The Renegade War
by Anthysama
Summary: The story of a hot new American chick, her year at Hogwarts, her friends, her rivals, her admirers, and the "war" that broke out as a result
1. The New Girl

Chapter One:  
New Girl  
  
  
A/N: Hi all! I came up with this story (or rather, my friend Adam came up with the idea, so kudos to him) while we were playing Super Monkey Ball for Nintendo Gamecube (really addictive game that is....). I think it's pretty good. Hope you enjoy it ^_^.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the HP characters. I only own (well, co-own) the new girl.  
  
  
  
  
" Bye, " Harry Potter said to his uncle as he shut the car door.   
Vernon shot a furtive glance at him, then hurried to the drivers side of the car.   
" Bye, Dudley, " Harry smirked at his cousin.  
Dudley whimpered, and scooted away from the window.  
Harry laughed as he watched the car speed away in haste. The Dursley's had been petrified (or rather, more petrified) of him and his kind ever since last year's incident with the Weasley's. They hadn't mistreated him once that whole summer.  
Harry made his way around Kings Cross Station, pushing his trolley, until he reached platforms 9 and 10. He was just about to start running, when he heard a yell of " Harry! "  
He turned around only to be tackled in a big hug.  
" Ah!! What the-"  
" Harry! It's SO good to see you! "  
He looked down to see Hermione grinning up at him.  
" Hermione! How are you? " he said cheerfully, not so freaked out now, knowing who it was.  
" I'm great! " she said, letting go of him and stepping back.  
" Well, you look great, " he said, smiling at her.  
" You think? "  
" Yeah. "  
She looked pretty much the same, except her hair was not bushy anymore. That, and she was a bit taller.   
" I haven't seen you all summer! Did you get my card? You look so different! "  
" Yes, and not really...." he mumbled, blushing a bit.  
He was taller of course, that was a given. His hair, still messy as anything (if not messier). He had also taken advantage of the Dursley's sudden kindness and asked for a new pair of glasses, and replaced his old black frames with a new pair of silver ones.  
" But, hey, we should get going, eh? " Hermione said. " Don't want to miss the train. "  
" Yeah, I agree. Let's go, " Harry said. " Ladies first, " he added.  
" Why thank you Harry, " she smiled, and kissed his cheek as she walked past with her trolley.  
He blinked in confusion for a moment. That's the second times she's done that, he thought, as he followed her through the wall.   
Moments later, he arrived at the busy platform, and searched around for Hermione, only to find her talking to someone with red hair with yellow streaks in it, who looked very familiar.  
" Harry! " the person greeted him as he approached them.  
" Do I- wait a sec..." Harry said, as he looked hard into the face of the boy. His eyes went wide in realization.  
" RON? "  
He laughed. " Of course, who'd you think I was? "  
" What-what the bloody hell did you do to your hair?! " Harry sputtered.  
" You like it? Figured I'd try something new this year. So I wouldn't look so much like everyother Weasley. Mum was barkin' mad though; never asked her permission, " he chuckled.  
" Speaking of new- " Hermione started.  
" Who was speaking of new? " Ron asked.  
She glared at him and tried again " Speaking of new, because you just finished talking about something you did that was new-"  
" Oh. "  
" - I happen to have been chosen to be Gryffindors' newest Prefect this year " she grinned, flashing her new Prefect pin for them to see.  
" Oh lord, here we go..." Ron rolled his eyes.  
" Way to go, 'Mione, " Harry said in congratulations.  
Hermione smiled, then frowned as she heard the train whistle. " We better hurry and get on the train before it takes off without us."  
They agreed and hurried to load all of their stuff on the train, then boarded.   
" That was close " Ron sighed as he plopped down in the first empty compartment they found.  
" Yeah," Harry said, taking the seat across from him, Hermione sitting next to him.   
The train gave a jerk, and the Hogwarts Express was on its way.  
  
Half an hour later, the snack trolley came around, and Harry bought some of everything, and they chatted a bit.   
" Ron, where's your sister? I haven't seen her at all," Harry asked, eating munching on Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans.  
" Oh, " he said, as he opened a Pumpkin Pasty. " She stayed over at a friends house this summer, so she came with them. "  
Harry nodded, and went back to his beans.  
" So, anyway Harry, " Ron said, as he now unwrapped a Chocolate Frog, " think I should try out for the House Quidditch Team this year? "  
" Awwww, crap, I completely forgot about that! " Harry groaned and buried his face in his hands.  
Ron about choked on his Chocolate Frog. " What?! Harry Potter, Hogwarts' greatest Seeker, forgetting about Quidditch?! That's about as probable as Dumbledore and You-know-who sitting down and having a tea party. "  
Harry laughed a bit at the thought of Voldermort in a frilly dress and hat, drinking tea daintily.   
" No, it's not that I forgot about it, how could I? I just forgot that I'm the only one left one the team now. Everyone else graduated. "  
" That's right, Harry, that completely slipped my mind! " gasped Hermione.  
" That's brilliant though! That means you're automatically Captain of the team! " Ron grinned.  
" Yeah. I know. That's what I'm worried about. "  
" I'm sure you'll do fine Harry. "  
" Yeah, and with me on the team, you'll have absolutely nothing to worry about! " Ron said enthusiastically.  
" Yeah. Yeah, I guess you're right...." Harry sighed.  
" So I'm on the team then? "  
" What? No! I have to see you fly first, " Harry laughed.  
" Damnit.....almost had you....." Ron shook his head.  
" Um, excuse me. Were you guys talking about Quidditch? "  
" Huh-whoa...." Harry turned to see who had said that and turned an interesting shade of pink.  
Standing at their compartment door was the most gorgeous girl Harry had ever seen. Besides Cho anyway. She had long curly dark brown hair that framed her face perfectly, hazel eyes, and above all else, a very nice figure.  
" Daaaaaammmmnnn....." Harry whispered, jaw-dropped, a dazed look on his face.  
" What? " she asked, tilting her head.  
" I, uh...mean, yeah, we were talking about Quidditch " Harry stuttered, wiping the goofy grin off his face.   
" Smooth, Potter. Very smooth " Ron whispered to him.  
Harry shot him a death glare.  
" Cool. Mind if I sit with you guys? Everywhere else looks to be full. "  
" Sure! " exclaimed Harry, maybe a bit too enthusiastically. " I mean, no, we don't mind. "  
" Thanks! " she said, and took a seat next to Ron.  
" So, who are you guys? " she asked.  
" Ronald Weasley, " said Ron, extending a hand, which she shook, " but you can call me Ron. "  
" Hermione Granger, " stated Hermione a bit stiffly.  
" H-Harry. Harry Potter, " Harry said, blushing a bit.  
" Hold up, THE Harry Potter? " the girl inquired, seemingly interested.  
" Heh. Yeah, that's me, " he said, pinker still.  
" The same one who defeated Voldermort? "  
Ron and Hermione shuddered a bit at the mention of that name, while Harry, however, stared at her in surprise. " You're not afraid to say his name?"  
" Why would I be? He seems more scary if you can't use his real name, and I have no real reason to be scared, " she reasoned.  
" Oh. Well, yeah...."  
" But you're him right? "  
" Yes. "  
She grinned. " That's tight. "  
Harry raised an eyebrow in confusion. " Tight? "  
She laughed. " That's right, you guys are Brits, I keep forgetting. Tight. You know, as in ' sweet '. "  
Seeing that they still had a blank look on their faces, she tried again. " Phat? "  
They all looked at eachother, shrugged, and looked back at her.  
She rolled her eyes. " Wicked? "  
" OHHHHHH! " they all said, and were all smiles again.  
She shook her head. " We don't say 'wicked' in America. We say, 'cool' or 'tight' or 'sweet' or 'phat' . Well, not so much the last one..."  
" You're from America? " Harry asked.  
" Well, obviously, Harry, " Hermione glared at the book she had just picked up. " She doesn't sound British, does she? "  
" Yeah....." the girl said, looking a little warily at Hermione. " Yeah, I am. "  
Harry grinned. " That's......tight. "  
She smiled at him. " You learn fast. "  
" Yeah, well...." he blushed again, looking down at his hands.  
Hermione rolled her eyes. " Honestly......"  
" Anyway, " Ron said, after an awkward silence, " what are you doing-"  
" Well, what do you know, it's Potty, Weasel, and- what the fuck.....?"  
They all turned to the open compartment door to see Draco Malfoy, flanked by his lackeys Crabbe and Goyle, who were standing behind him flexing their muscles threateningly. But Malfoy had a dazed look on his face, much like the one Harry had wore earlier as he stared at the girl beside Ron.  
" Who are they? " she whispered to Ron.  
" Your worst nightmares " he grumbled back.  
Turning on the charm, Malfoy quickly shoved Ron out of the way (" Hey! ") and sat down next to her.  
" Allow me to introduce myself, pretty lady, " he said, putting on a winning smile. " I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy, " he said, and kissed her hand.  
" Straight to the point this one is, eh, Harry? " she chuckled.  
Harry gave a weak laugh, then glared at Draco.  
" Sup, Malfoy? " she asked.  
Caught off guard by her invitation to have dinner with her, he didn't answer, but quickly recovered by saying " Feel free to call me Draco. "  
" Oki-dokie, Draco. "  
" That means 'Dragon' you know. My name that is, " he added.  
" I know. "  
" Oh. "  
Harry was staring daggers at Malfoy during this exchange, until he finally noticed.   
" What are you staring at, Potter? "  
" Stick your finger back in your pants, Draco, " Harry sneered.  
" HA! That's a good one, I'ma have to use that..." the girl exclaimed. Harry beamed.  
Draco glared. " I don't recall telling you that you had permission to call me by my first name. "  
" So sue me. "  
" For what? I don't remember you being rich. I know, why don't you borrow some money off of Weasley here- but, OH, wait, I forgot, he's as poorer than my House Elf, " he said evilly.  
" Ooohh. Harsh, " the girl said.   
" Watch it, Malfoy " Ron said warningly from his new place on the floor. " I can take you out, or better yet, turn you into a ferret. I've been practicing. "  
Draco's eyes flashed menacingly at the mention of that, and Crabbe and Goyle cracked their knuckles.  
" Ferret? I have a pet ferret named Maro, " she said.  
" Do you? " Draco asked, all charm again, using the ferret crack to his advantage. " You know, I was once a ferret. Last year, actually. "  
" Were you now? That's pretty sweet. "  
Malfoy adopted a huge smile and smirked at Harry. " Here that Potter? She thinks I'm sweet. "  
" Correction, she thinks the fact that you got turned into one is sweet, not you, stupid prat..." Harry mumbled under his breath.  
" Hey, it's getting pretty dark, think we're almost there? " Ron asked, looking out the window.  
" Probably. We should get into our robes, " Hermione said, putting up her book. " So you guys leave. "  
" Ok, " said Ron and Harry, and walked out.  
" Sure you don't need my assistance or anything? " Draco asked casually. " Being from out of state, you probably don't know how to put on Hogwarts robes properly. I can help you there. "  
Hermione looked disgusted, while the girl just smiled. " Naaa, that's ok, Drac. I've got it under control. "   
And she closed the door in his face.  
  
  
  
  
  
Ok, whaddya think? Good? Want the second chapter? Wanna say hi? That's what the review button is for. Just so you know, I'm not exactly sure if all the Gryffindor's Quidditch players are gone 'cept Harry. I figured last year ( Goblet of Fire) was their last, so that's where that's from. Also, if you didn't get the " joke " about the new girl asking Malfoy " Sup? ", ' sup' can mean, like, " to eat the evening meal " (Websters dictionary definition) so there you go. And I don't know, I might be exaggerating a bit by saying Brits don't know all of our slang, but I know my cousins don't (they live in London). I have yet to think of a name for the new girl ^_^;;;, so ideas are welcome. By the way, when she called him " Drac " that would be pronounced like " Drake ". Anywho, later. 


	2. Slytherin?

Chapter 2  
Slytherin?  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Ok all! Here's the second installment. Thank you to all the nice people who reviewed my story and for your suggestions. To Dark Unicorn, I would like to say, thanks, I'm trying really hard to keep everyone in character. I don't usually write a lot about Draco, so I'm not very good at his character.( I'm not evil like he is ~_~;;;;) Also, special thanks to Goldengurl, who suggested a name for the new girl, which I've decided (with Adam's help of course) I'm going to use. OK, enough chitchat, onto the story. By the way, I hope this chapter doesn't suck, cause I don't personally think it's up to my writing capabilities (I wrote it early this morning cause I had nothing better to do).   
  
  
  
Reaching the train station just outside of Hogsmeade, they all got off the train.   
" Firs' years! Firs' years, this way! "  
Harry and crew turned to see the towering Hagrid with his lantern, stomping through the crowd. He spotted them and waved.  
" All right there 'Arry? Ron? 'Ermione? "  
They waved back at him as the new girl asked " Who's that? He's HUGE!"  
" That monster would be Hagrid, " Malfoy said as he sidled up behind them. " He's a giant who dabbles in illegal creatures. "  
" A giant? That's soooo tight! I've never met a giant before! " she exclaimed.  
Malfoy stopped walking and raised an eyebrow in confusion, and mumbled something " tight....???? ".  
Harry took this as his cue to drag the girl away from Draco. " Come on, let's go find a carriage. "  
" Harry, doesn't she have to go with the first years? " Hermione asked pointedly.  
" She's a fifth year, Hermione, not a first year, " Harry replied, a bit confused.  
" Yes, but it's her first year here, so shouldn't she go with the first years? " she answered, pointing at her.  
" Actually, Hermione's got a point, " the girl said. " First year is first year, so I'll just follow...Hagrid did you say his name was? "  
" But- " Harry protested.  
" I'll be fine! Know what, Ron'll come with me, won't you Ron? " she said smiling.  
" Huh? " he asked, paying attention to the conversation now.  
" Come on! " she said, pulling him away.  
" Huh- ok.....um.....bye Harry! " he said, looking back at him and shrugging.  
" Let's go find a carriage, then, " Hermione said, taking his hand and practically dragging him away.  
  
Having reached the Castle, everyone walked through the giant doors, and proceeded to the Great Hall.  
It looked splendid as usual, the ceiling reflecting the night sky; a full moon and partially cloudy skies. They all sat down at their respective tables, and waited until Professor McGonagall entered with the first years.  
The doors to the Great Hall swung open, and McGonagall strode in with the first years, all of which looked absolutely petrified.   
Harry remembered that; the fear of not getting put in a house, the worry of whether you'd completely embarrass yourself that year.  
" Hey, " Ron said as he quietly slipped into a seat next to Harry.   
Harry nodded at him, then looked back at the throng of first year students. He could just make out the new girl, mostly owing to the fact that she was so much taller than the rest of them. He waved sheepishly at her, and she spotted him, smiled, and waved back. He flushed pink.  
Ron rolled his eyes and elbowed him. " Is it just me, or does someone fancy Katherine? " he whispered, with a smirk on his face.  
" No- wait. Katherine? Who's Katherine? " Harry asked.  
" God Harry, don't be so dense. That's her name, " Ron said, shaking his head.  
" How'd you know her name? "  
" She told me. " Ron said simply.  
" When? "   
" On the boat across the lake. "  
" Why?! "  
" Maybe cause I asked, but that's just a guess. Geez Harry, what's with the questions? " Ron asked, a little uncomfortable.   
" She never told me her name..." he mumbled.  
" Cause you never asked- "  
" Shutup Ron, it's about to start... " Harry grumbled, as he turned to face the head table. Ron smirked and followed suit.   
Professor McGonagall had placed the Sorting Hat on the stool, and everyone leaned forward in their seats, eagerly awaiting its song.  
The brim of the hat opened, and it began to sing.  
" Oh, I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat,  
Hello! How do you do?  
Upon your head I shall sit,  
And pick a house for you.  
It's in your mind where you shall be,  
And I can pick and seek.  
Put me on your head, real snug,  
So I can take a peek!  
You could be put in Slytherin,   
Where power seekers lie,  
Or perhaps in Gryffindor,  
Where you'll find bravery by and by.  
Maybe in gentle Hufflepuff  
You'll find that you belong,  
Or else you'll be in Ravenclaw,  
There, smart ones can't go wrong.  
So let's begin, put me on,  
I'll put you in a place  
Where you'll succeed and learn a lot,  
And not be a disgrace! "  
  
They all clapped as the hat finished its song. Then everyone became quiet again as they waited for it to begin.  
" When I call your name, " Professor McGonagall informed the first years, " you will come and sit on the stool, and put the sorting hat on your head, understand? "  
A few nodded, while the others were too shaken to do anything.  
" Ackerly, Adair! " McGonagall called.  
A short girl with blonde hair walked shakily up to the stool, sat down, and put the hat on her head, which, she complained later " messed up her hair ".   
There was a moment of pause, then-  
" HUFFLEPUFF! " shouted the hat.  
She smiled and took the hat off and went to sit with the other Hufflepuffs, who all cheered and clapped.  
" Berezo, Nicholas! "  
" SLYTHERIN! " shouted the hat, and Nicholas walked to their table and sat down across from Draco, amid Slytherin cheers.  
" Corral, Amelia! "  
" RAVENCLAW! "  
The Ravenclaw table clapped as Amelia came to sit down with them.  
It went on until " Freeman, Cacey! " became the first new Gryffindor. She was a bubbly girl, with black glasses, and short hair. The Gryffindors cheered as she took a seat next to Ginny.  
5 Gryffindors, 2 Slytherins, and 3 more Hufflepuffs later........  
" Maxwell, Michiko! "  
A short haired, oriental looking girl, stepped up to the stool, and just barely put the hat on when it screeched " SLYTHERIN!! "  
She grinned, and waved at one of the other waiting first years.  
Then, " Maxwell, Sachiko! "  
Harry did a double take as a girl who looked almost exactly like the Maxwell before her, except with a very long braid down her back, sat on the chair, and exactly as her sister had had happen, the hat screamed " SLYTHERIN!! ", and she gave a whoop, and ran to sit with her sister.   
After what seemed like forever, the last first year (" Yuy, Umeko!") was sorted ("GRYFFINDOR!"), only the new girl was remaining.  
Harry got a sickening feeling in his stomach. What if she wasn't supposed to be sorted? What if she wasn't even supposed to be here? What if she lied to them and was really....(bumbum buuummmmm!) a teacher?!  
Dumbledore stood up and tapped his glass for quiet.   
" Before the feast commences, I would like to make an announcement, " he said, with a twinkle in his eye.  
" As you can see, we seem to have another student still standing, " he said, gesturing to Katherine. " I'd like to introduce you to her. This is Professor Snape's god daughter and niece, Katherine. "  
Harry's eyes went huge at the news of this, while Ron doubled up in silent laughter. Malfoy on the other side of the room could also been seen sharing Harry's expression.  
" She'll be joining us this year. She's in fifth year, and will be sorted into a house. So without further to do, Katherine, would you be so kind as to try on the hat? " he said kindly.  
" Sure thing, sir! " she grinned, and jumped onto the stool and jammed the hat on her head.  
Harry glanced over at the Head Table, where he could see Snape shaking his head.  
The Hall became quiet. Everyone watched Katherine, who was looking around happily, grinning like a Cheshire cat. The hat seemed to be taking its time with her.  
Finally, it said " SLYTHERIN! ", and you could hear " HA! In your face, Potter! " coming from the direction of the Slytherin table along with many cheers. Harry glared at the floor.  
" Well, with that done and taken care of, " Dumbledore spoke, standing up again, " let the feast begin! "  
The tables filled with food, and everyone began eating.  
Harry picked at his food, and finally pushed it away all together.  
" Honestly, Harry, you're not still brooding over that Katherine, are you? " Hermione sighed, taking a sip of Pumpkin juice.  
" Someone jealous? " Ron asked nonchalantly, stuffing his face with mashed potatoes.  
" NO! I'm just saying......nevermind, " Hermione grumbled, turning pink. She went back to talking to Ginny.  
" Hey, Harry? I think Hermione fancies you, " Ron whispered.  
" No, you think? " Harry snapped, surprising himself.  
Ron raised an eyebrow. " Excuse me...."  
Harry sighed. " Sorry 'bout that Ron. I know. That would explain how she was acting today. But it's just....why'd she have to be put in Slytherin? "  
" Ohhhh, " Ron said knowingly. " Well.......since you're already kinda her friend, it really shouldn't be anything to worry about. "  
" It's not that I'm worried about, " Harry muttered. " It's Malfoy. "  
" Oh, come one, why would she choose that big-headed prat over you? " Ron exclaimed. " You're captain of the Quidditch team-"  
" So's Malfoy, remember? "  
" .......oh yeah......um....you're the Boy who lived-"  
" - and is currently living with a couple of magic hating muggles. "  
"...................you're cute? "  
Harry stared at him for a sec, then asked " Ron, what do you think of Lavender? "  
" She's got a nice ass, why? "  
Harry nodded, apparently satisfied. " Just checking. "  
Ron looked confused for a sec, then glared at Harry and said " That's not what I meant! What I'm saying is that you have many admirable traits and I'm sure she's fall for you in a second. "  
Harry gave a small smile. " Thanks, Ron. "  
Then Ron smacked him over the head.  
" OW! What the fuck was that for?! " he hissed, rubbing his head.  
" For thinking I was gay " he said simply, and went back to his dinner.  
Harry shook his head and looked over to the Slytherin table. He could see Katherine, but she didn't look to happy. Maybe it was Draco rambling on next to her.   
The feast ended with them all singing the school song (which they hadn't done in a long time), then the prefects were to lead the first years to the dorms.  
Hermione stood up very important like and collected all the first years.  
" Harry? Aren't you coming? " she asked when she saw that only Ron was following her.  
" Huh? Uh, I'll catch up with you, hold on......" he said, and made his way over to the Slytherins before she could ask any more questions.  
He spotted her, and called " Katherine! "  
She turned, smiled, and walked over.  
" Sup, Harry? " she said.  
" Um........nothing...much....? " he said, hoping he had answered correctly.  
" Cool. "  
Apparently so.  
" Yeah. "  
He shuffled his feet a bit. " So....you're in Slytherin, eh? " Stupid question, he criticized himself.  
" Yeah, kinda sucks though, " she sighed, looking kind of dismal. " I didn't really want to be in it. "  
" Really? " he asked, surprised, " I would have thought since you were related to Snape-"  
" Who, Uncle Sev? " she asked. " Naaa, I'm not really into that dark arts crap. I guess it's probably because I have the blood of a Snape, and all the Snape's have been in Slytherin, it figured it would be best to put me there, " she shrugged.  
" But, hey, I gotta get going. I'll probably talk to you tomorrow morning, 'kay? "  
" Ok, Katherine. "  
" Please, Katherine is so damn formal. You can call me Kat, " she said, and waved goodbye. " C'ya 'round, Potter! "  
" Bye....." he said, still pink, as he waved back.  
He practically floated up to Gryffindor Tower, followed, unknown to him, by the eyes of 2 very ticked girls.  
  
  
Ok, so what did you think? I REALLY hope it didn't suck. Did I totally make it stupid by making Katherine related to Snape? If I did, tell me, so I can re-write the second chapter and make it better. Is everyone still in character? Your reviews help me to make the story better, so if this isn't what you wanna see happening, TELL ME, and I'll do my best to do better. Ok, I think that's it...OH YEAH, almost forgot, those people who I sorted all all friends of mine, or else they came out of my eight grade yearbook. Michiko and Sachiko are nicknames for 2 of my best friends. Nicholas is just someone in band that I know. And the sorting hat song? All mine, with the help of a rhyming words dictionary. Ok, I'ma go now...later. 


	3. The Renegade Slytherin

The Renegade Slytherin  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Third chapter, coming at you! Sorry it took so long to get it posted. First I misplaced it, then I found it, then I got writers block, then I had some of my friends read it over to see how they liked it, then I had to change it, because they kept complaining to me that " Harry would NEVER say something like that!" and I kept having to explain to them that it's a fanfic, therefore things don't have to be 100% accurate (....do they????), then I lost it again, then my sister told me that I had left it at a friends house, and I JUST got it back today, so I figured I'd better hurry up and type it. OK, enough of my rambling..by the way, sorry if Hermione is slowly getting out of character. Same goes for Harry. By the way again, I stand corrected. Apparently, Fred and George SHOULD be in this story, and Harry SHOULDN'T be the only member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team left....so kinda disregard that and let's say that they're in 6th year ok? That way he WOULD be Captain of the team, ok? Sorry! ^_^;;;  
  
  
  
"Good morning, Harry!" someone said cheerfully.  
  
Harry looked up from his breakfast to see Hermione and Ginny smiling at him.  
  
"Good morning, girls," he said, smiling back.  
  
"What, go good morning to me?" Ron asked, faking annoyance.  
  
Hermione and Ginny glared at him, and he shrunk back into his seat. "Nevermind..."  
  
"Looking forward to a great year, Harry?" Ginny asked.  
  
"Most definatly..." Harry sighed, looking forlornly towards the Slytherin table.  
  
Hermione followed his gaze and frowned. "Harry, it's great that you're not fawning over Cho anymore-"  
  
"Cho, Cho who?" he said, distractedly.  
  
"-and it's......great," she said through clenched teeth, "that you like someone new, but," and she put her hands on her hips here, "she's a Slytherin. You already know how Slytherins turn out, look at Malfoy. Why don't you focus on someone in your own house? Someone who already likes you," she said casually. Ginny suddenly turned and glared at her.  
  
"Like...who?" Harry asked, taking a guess in his head.  
  
"Like-"  
  
"Mornin', my homies!"  
  
They all turned to see Katherine strolling towards them. She wasn't exactly dressed traditionally though. She wasn't wearing a skirt like all the other girls, she was wearing slacks. That, and she wasn't wearing a bit of green on her at all. She was wearing Gryffindors colors, and a pin that said "Godsmack = ROOLZ".  
  
(A/N: don't ask WHERE the hell that came from. One of my friends was BEGGING me to put that she liked Godsmack somewhere in the story....~_~;;;).  
  
"Godsmack?" Ron asked, pointing at the pin.  
  
"Homies?" Harry asked, as you sat down next to him.  
  
"Yeah. Godsmack. Kick-ass band. But you probably have to be American to fully appreciate it," she said, addressing Ron.  
  
"Homies. As in groupies, as in my posse, as in my friends," she said, answering Harry.  
  
"Oh," Harry and Ron answered.  
  
"Shouldn't you be over there at the Slytherin table?" Hermione asked pointedly.  
  
"And why aren't you wearing Slytherin green and silver?" chimed in Ginny.  
  
"Ha!" Katherine exclaimed suddenly, looking at Ginny. She pointed at her, and turned to Ron. "This one yours?"  
  
"Ya. I have 2 others. Well, rather, 5 others," he said, shrugging. "That's Ginny."  
  
Katherine put on the best british accent she could manage, and failed miserably. "Hullo there, Ginny! Absolutely CORKING to meet you!"  
  
Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Pleasure."  
  
"Anywho," Kat said, turning to Hermione. "In answer to your question, I don't think so. They're all kinda weird. Nothing like me at all. All they talk about is how so-and-so is a Death Eater, and all this Dark Arts crap," she said shrugging. "And Gin, I'm not wearing green and stuff cause those colors look horrible on me. Red and yellow look better. Plus, I like youse guys better!" she ended grinning.  
  
"Oh," Hermione said disappointedly.  
  
Professor McGonagall then walked past and handed them their schedules. "Katherine, your uncle would have your schedule," she said before walking away.  
  
"Speaking of Snape," Ron asked frowning at his schedule, "we have double Potions with the Slytherins AGAIN this year."  
  
"Aw, that won't be so bad," Kat smiled, ruffling Harry and Ron's hair. "More time to hang out with you guys!"  
  
Harry turned crimson, Ron turned a laugh into a coughing fit, and Hermione and Ginny glared.  
  
"Hey Harry," Ron whispered, "we got Care of Magical Creatures with them, too."  
  
"So?"  
  
"Well, the way things are working out," Ron smirked,"the more you'll get to know her, and before you know it, you'll be able to see whether she dyes her hair or not."  
  
Harry stared at him blankly. "Was that supposed to be a joke? Cause I don't get it."  
  
Ron rolled his eyes. "You don't get out much, do you?" He whispered his meaning to Harry, who promptly exclaimed "Ron!" and turned redder than Ron and Ginny's hair put together, as Ron collapsed in laughter.  
  
"You have spent WAY too much time with Fred and George...." Harry muttered, shaking his head.  
  
"What's so funny?" the girls asked.  
  
"Nothing! Nothing at all!" Harry exclaimed hurriedly, trying very hard not to look at Katherine. "ANYWAY, Kat, what's it like having Snape for an uncle?"  
  
She crossed her arms and looked to the ceiling in thought. "Um....I don't know. Uncle Sev's real nice to me, so it's not too bad. Why, is he mean to you guys or something?"  
  
All of their jaws dropped in disbelief.  
  
"Are you kidding, our first year here Snape tried to kill Harry-"  
  
"Ron, you're forgetting, that was Quirrel-"  
  
"He's always giving us detention-"  
  
"Correction, you and Harry-"  
  
"For something we've never done-"  
  
"Like paying attention in class-"  
  
"Shutup Hermione!"  
  
"I'm just getting the facts straight," she said, crossing her arms.  
  
Ron rolled his eyes. "Mental, that one is. The point is, Snape doesn't exactly like us too much."  
  
"Or anyone from Gryffindor Tower, for that matter," Harry pointed out.  
  
"That's a shame....." Katherine said. "Hey! I know! Maybe I can talk to him, get him to be nicer!"  
  
Hermione snorted.  
  
"Thanks, but no thanks," Ron replied.  
  
"Unless your goal is to get us killed, I wouldn't suggest it," Harry said sheepishly.  
  
"Wouldn't suggest what, Potter, holding a Weasley up for ransom?" a voice drawled behind them.  
  
Katherine turned around in her seat and pointed at Malfoy. "I like this kid. He's very creative with his insults."  
  
Draco beamed. "Good morning, Kat."  
  
"Good morning, Drac!" she said cheerfully.  
  
Malfoy glared at Harry and his friends. "Morning," he said coldly.  
  
Hermione crossed her arms again, Ron gave him a cold stare, Ginny stared, Harry acknowledged Draco's presence. "Malfoy," he said coldly.  
  
A moment of silent tension passed between the two, before Kat said "Well, love to stay and chat boys, but I'ma get to class. Potions first, I understand. C'yall later!" she said getting up.  
  
Harry and Draco stopped staring daggers at each other long enough to say "Bye Katherine!" cheerily in her direction.  
  
Malfoy pushed some hair out of his face before saying "I don't have time to hang out with the likes of you. I have a class to go to."  
  
He leaned closer to Harry. "And a certain girl to win," he hissed, then turned and stalked out of the Great Hall. "Oh Katherine! Wait up!" he called.  
  
Harry frowned angrily at Draco's retreating figure. "What IS it with that guy?!" he exclaimed.  
  
He grabbed his stuff, yelled over his shoulder "Going to class, see you there!" and tore out of the Great Hall at breakneck speed.  
  
Apparently, Malfoy and Katherine had been walking very fast, because Harry never met up with them in the hall. Reaching the dungeons, though, he saw them leaning against the wall outside Snape's classroom.  
  
"..And so, with my last bit of strength," Malfoy was saying dramatically, " I reached out and grabbed the Triwizards Cup, thus winning the Triwizard Tournament," he finished, bowing his head.  
  
"Wow, that's pretty tight," said Katherine in amazement.  
  
"Malfoy, that right there was a bunch of crap," Harry exclaimed as he got nearer. "You weren't even in the Tournament, I was. You didn't grab the cup, Cedric and I-"  
  
He stopped mid-sentence, remembering the painful events from 4th year that he had been trying so hard to forget.  
  
"Something wrong, Harry?" Kat asked, a look of concern on her face.  
  
"Just remembering something that happened two years ago," he replied softly.  
  
"Oh Lord, here we go....." Malfoy muttered, rolling his eyes.  
  
She looked at Harry encouragingly, so he sighed and continued.  
  
"Um, one of my......well, I guess you could call him a friend," he started, really in his head thinking of Cedric more along the lines of a rival, " um....we were both in the Tournament, and we reached the cup, but it was actually a port key to Voldermort. And Voldermort killed him in order to get him out of the way so he could kill me," he finished, his voice cracking a bit at the end.  
  
Kat must have felt sorry for him, cause she gave him a big hug. He was a bit surprised, but he couldn't help grinning at the pissed look on Malfoy's face. His grin faded, however, as he saw a very ticked looking Hermione come around the corner, as she marched past them, nose in the air, and straight into the newly opened classroom. Ron was right behind her, and shrugged.  
  
"Harry, I-I never knew," she said, letting go of him. "I'm very sorry." Harry nodded.  
  
"And YOU," she said, whirling around and facing Draco, who looked very taken aback, "You just don't go around stealing other peoples' sad stories, yo! It's just something you don't do, you got me?" she said menacingly.  
  
Malfoy actually took a step back. "Yes ma'am," he said sheepishly.  
  
"Straight up, Drac, I forgive you," she said with a grin. "Let's get inside before we're late."  
  
"After you," both boys said, bowing her into the classroom. Her having gone in, they rushed to the doorway.  
  
"Get out of the way Potter!" hissed Draco, who was trying to shove Harry away from him so he could get in the classroom.  
  
"You get out of the way!" Harry said, agrivatedly. "It's your fault we're stuck in the door anyway!"  
  
"Is not!"  
  
"Is so!"  
  
"Is not!"  
  
"Would you boys be so kind so as to get out of my doorway and SIT DOWN?!"  
  
Both boys turned their heads to see Professor Snape behind them, arms crossed, and glaring.  
  
"Well?"  
  
They shot an angry look at each other, then moved slowly out of the doorway.  
  
"Thank you. And 10 points from Gryffindor for holding the class up," he sneered, and stalked into the classroom.  
  
"What?! I wasn't the only one in the door, you know!" Harry said angrily.  
  
"I have a feeling you started it, Potter. Now have a seat, before I take more points off," Snape replied, eyes narrowed.  
  
Malfoy smirked at him, but quickly stopped when he saw that Harry wasn't paying attention. He was looking for Katherine.  
  
"Harry! Drac! Over here!"  
  
Kat was waving to them from the back of the classroom.  
  
Harry and Draco rushed over, and conveniently positioned themselves on either side of her.  
  
Hermione and Ron were seated in front of them, along with Neville, Seamus, and Dean.  
  
Snape stood in front of the class and took roll. When he got to Katherine's name, she cheerfully exclaimed-  
  
"Present, Uncle Sev!"  
  
He grimaced a bit, then glared at the Slytherins who were snickering.  
  
He finished calling roll, then glanced at the class.  
  
"As you all know, we have a new student," Snape sneered at the class. "She's my niece, so I expect you to treat her with respect. Do I make myself clear?"  
  
Everyone nodded, and Katherine beamed in the back.  
  
"Uncle Sev, you didn't have to do that! I know everyone would have been nice to me anyway. See?" she said, hauling Draco and Harry out of their seats. "I've made 2 new friends already! Oh yeah, and Ron and Hermione," she added, pointing at them.  
  
All the Slytherins stared at their newest Slytherin in shock.  
  
Snape raised his eyebrow slightly and said "That's.....very good Katherine, but we have a lesson to get through, so...."  
  
"Ah, don't say anymore, Unc, I read you. Peace out," she said, and sat down, dragging Harry and Draco back into their seats.  
  
Professor Snape shook his head and proceeded with the lesson.  
  
"We'll be taking a test today to see if you all studied over the summer," he sneered, grinning evilly at the class. "Get out a quill, we will begin now."  
  
He passed out the tests, and everyone started.  
  
Harry barely knew any of the answers, but Kat looked to be flying through the test.  
  
Probably comes from having a Potions master for and uncle, he thought.  
  
Half an hour later, Snape collected the test and stood in front of the room, eyes glinting maliciously.  
  
"Well then. Let's see how you did."  
  
He took the first test. "'Name the cloning potion that you need a bit of the person you want to clone in order for it to work.' Mr. Longbottom, the 'Dollie Sheep Clone' potion is incorrect, five points from Gryffindor."  
  
Neville shrunk in his seat.  
  
He took another test. "'Wolfsbane potion helps what'. Mr. Thomas, 'warts' would be wrong. Five points from Gryffindor."  
  
Dean shrugged and said "Not a bad guess, I think." Seamus nodded in approval.  
  
He picked up another test. "Ah, Mr. Potter, 'To counteract a swelling solution you would use....' a deflating draft..."Snape's face fell as he saw that he got it right. Kat gave Harry a thumbs up, and Hermione smiled at him.  
  
He picked up yet another. "Katherine. I expect it to be right, which it probably is. ' What is a Bezoar used for'".  
  
He looked at the answer and did a doubletake. ".......42?" He looked at her from across the room. "Katherine, 42?"  
  
She nodded vigorously. "Uh-huh. 42 is the universal answer for everything. Says so in "Hitch-hikers Guide to the Universe. Good book, yo. You should read it."  
  
Snape looked at her in amazement. Hermione turned around in her seat and shot a skeptical glance in her direction.  
  
"Let's try again," Snape said, shaking his head. "A Pepper-up Potion is used to...?"  
  
"Add flavor to soup?" she guessed.  
  
Snape raised an eyebrow. "No....how about this one then...Name the ingredients of a Polyjuice Potion."  
  
"Sugar and Spice, and everything-"  
  
"No."  
  
"No?" she asked, tilting her head.  
  
"What is the key ingredient to an invisibility potion?"  
  
"Inviso juice!" she said, happily.  
  
Snape looked hopelessly at his niece and sighed. "Who founded Slytherin House?!" he asked.  
  
"Salamander Slytherin!" she exclaimed confidently.  
  
The Slytherins looked at her in horror.  
  
The Gryffindors stared in amazement. There wasn't a Slytherin alive who didn't know at LEAST who founded Slytherin House. THEY even knew.  
  
Hermione shook her head. Harry looked stunned, and Malfoy looked like Christmas had been canceled. Neville however, looked quite pleased. "Finally, someone who knows less than me in Potions!" he whispered. Ron smiled weakly at him.  
  
After a long silence, Pansy Parkinson exclaimed "You stink at Potions, I hear you're not interested in Dark Arts, you hang out with Gryffindors, you're decked out in Gryffindor colors, AND you don't even know who founded Slytherin House. What kind of a Slytherin are you?!"  
  
Katherine jumped onto the table (Harry and Draco instinctively jumped back), spun around, gave the class a peace sign and winked.  
  
"One of a kind. Just call me the Renegade Slytherin!"  
  
Class went by rather slow, and ended with Katherine melting 5 more cauldrons than Neville had his first week.  
  
Needless to say, Neville was ecstatic.  
  
"Could you believe? I'm actually better at Potions than someone!" he told Ron and Hermione as they walked down the hall.  
  
"That IS rather surprising," Ron thought out loud. "She is in Slytherin afterall."  
  
"I like her," Neville informed them. "Maybe I can tutor her?"  
  
"Don't bother, it seems as though she's already found 2," Hermione said stiffly, shooting a glance behind her at Harry, Draco, and Katherine. "I'm going to class...." and she stormed off.  
  
"What's wrong with Hermione?" Neville asked, confused.  
  
"I don't know, but I might have an idea. Don't worry about it, I'll tell you later," Ron said, shaking his head.  
  
Meanwhile behind them,  
  
"Kat, you never told me you stunk at Potions!" Harry said.  
  
"I told you I wasn't right for Slytherin, dude," she shrugged.  
  
"What you need, is a tutor," Malfoy explained.  
  
"Hmm...not a bad idea, Drac," she said, thinking it over.  
  
Harry saw through his plan immediately, and quickly said "Um, someone who really knows the material."  
  
"Someone who actually passes the tests," Malfoy countered.  
  
"Someone who's not a bigheaded git who's teacher's pet!" Harry shot back.  
  
"Someone who's not trying insanely hard to get a girl!"  
  
"Someone who can actually GET a girl!"  
  
Harry and Draco looked like they could have tore each to pieces right then, and Kat said "You've both got good points. I know who's perfect for the job."  
  
Draco struck a casual pose, and Harry looked to the sky confidently, shoving his bangs out of his face.  
  
Kat turned around and yelled "Yo Ron! You're my new Potions tutor!"  
  
"O....k..." he yelled back. He shrugged at Neville, and continued walking.  
  
Harry and Draco shared a look of shock, but recovered quickly. "Oh yeah, Ron, excellent choice!"  
  
"Couldn't have chose better, unless you chose me," Malfoy said, putting on the fakest smile he could manage.  
  
"Sweet. Well, I'ma bounce, I gotta get to my next class. Muggle Studies. Later!" she said, winked at the guys, turned, and walked off.  
  
Harry blinked a couple of times; he swore he had seen rose petals blowing in the wind behind her. (A/N: you know, like in those animes when the pretty girl walks away and the scene freezes and it looks like a painting and rose petals blow past on a pretty gust of wind. No? Ok then, NEVERMIND.........).  
  
He turned to see Malfoy walking away, shaking his head.  
  
"Where are you going?"  
  
"To lie down, I'm seeing rose petals and I don't know why...." he muttered, and headed back towards the dungeons.  
  
Lunch time rolled around, and Hermione stormed into the Great Hall and sat at the Gryffindor table in a huff.  
  
"I can't BELIEVE that girl!"  
  
Harry looked up from his homework. "Who, Kat?"  
  
"Yes, Kat!"  
  
"Why, what did she do?" he asked skeptically.  
  
"Well, we took a test in Muggle Studies, and she aced it!"  
  
"Wouldn't that generally be a good thing?"  
  
"No! Because she got the exact same as me! NOBODY ever gets the same as me!"  
  
"Hermione," Harry chuckled a bit, "You can't always be the best at everything, you know. You have to give others a chance, too."  
  
"AND," she exclaimed, "we had an assignment over the summer, an essay, and do you know what?!"  
  
"What?" asked Ron as he walked up.  
  
"She got a higher grade than me!!" she cried angrily.  
  
"What?" Ron asked, confused.  
  
Harry filled Ron in on what he had missed, sounding very happy on how well Kat was doing.  
  
"Well, that would make sense, considering her dad is a muggle," Ron shrugged.  
  
Harry gaped at him. "How-how'd you know that?"  
  
He shrugged again. "She told me. After she announced that I was her new Potions teacher."  
  
"By the way, what's with that? Since when am I good at Potions?" Ron asked, sitting down.  
  
"I don't know, but here comes your pupil now," Hermione muttered.  
  
Kat was skipping (literally) towards them, her hair now in long pigtails down her back. She was still wearing what she was wearing this morning, but was wearing sandals instead. She also had a pair of headphones on her head.  
  
"Hullo, Kat!" said Ron in greeting.  
  
"Hey!" she answered, smiling at him. She turned to Harry and grinned.  
  
"Sup Harry?"  
  
"N-nothing really," he stammered. "Congrats on the test in Muggle Studies."  
  
"Ah, it was nothing," she said with a wave of her hand. "It's one of my best subjects. No hard feelings, eh Hermione?" she joked, shoving her playfully.  
  
Hermione smiled weakly, then went back to glaring at her book.  
  
Kat took a seat. She sat quietly, bobbing her head.  
  
"Hey Kat, what's that?" Ron asked, indicating the headphones on her head.  
  
"A CD player, Weasel, don't you know anything?" came a drawling voice.  
  
"Sod off, Malfoy," Harry said, rolling his eyes.  
  
Draco ignored him and turned his attention to Kat. "Might I ask what you're listening to?"  
  
"And may I ask," Hermione cut in, "how you got a muggle artifact into Hogwarts, because as I understand-"  
  
"You can't get muggle electronics in? Yeah, I know. But this isn't a muggle thing. Special wizarding one. Muggle music, wizarding object," Katherine explained.  
  
"Oh," Hermione scowled, and went back to glaring at her book again.  
  
"Wanna listen?" she asked Draco and Harry.  
  
They nodded eagerly, and she placed a headphone on each of their heads.  
  
They listened for a bit, then Harry said "Who are those guys?" Then he added, "They ARE guys, right?"  
  
She laughed a bit and said, "Yeah, they're guys. That's N'SYNC."  
  
"In who?" asked Malfoy.  
  
"N'SYNC. Huge muggle group in the states," she said. My personal faves are Lance and Joey," she added dreamily.  
  
Harry processed this in his mind, and nodded slowly. Then-  
  
"Um, Ron, tell Trelawney I won't be in class today, though, knowing her, she'll probably say she already knew that..." Harry said.  
  
"Why?" Ron asked taking a bit of his lunch.  
  
"Got something to work on..." he answered. "See you guys later," he added, and left, almost running into Ginny ("Sorry Gin!" "S'ok!").  
  
"Kat, tell McGonagall I might be late," Draco muttered, then headed off in the direction Harry had run (him, also, almost running into Ginny ("Out of my way, Weasley!" "Excuse me! Geez...")).  
  
She approached the table, then seeing that Kat was there, turned around, and walked to the other end of the table to talk to Colin Creevey.  
  
"Hm. Wonder why they were in such a hurry?" Katherine commented to no one in particular.  
  
"To get away from you," Hermione grumbled.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Huh? Nothing...." Hermione saved quickly.  
  
Kat shrugged. "I'ma go talk to Uncle Sev. Tell him that I got a Potions tutor. Coming Ron?" she asked.  
  
"Sure, you go on, I'll catch up," he said.  
  
She nodded, waved bye, and took off.  
  
Ron turned to Hermione. "Hermione, is something wrong?"  
  
"No, nothing's wrong, what gave you that idea?" she snapped distractedly.  
  
"Well, for starters, I never mentioned it but you've been reading the same page for 5 minutes now, AND the book is upside down."  
  
Hermione flushed, and turned the book right side up.  
  
"I'm going out on a limb, here. Do you not like Kat? Because every time she's around, you seem really cold and distant," Ron asked.  
  
Hermione didn't answer.  
  
"You jealous or something?"  
  
"Now why would I be jealous of HER?!" she asked peevishly.  
  
"Maybe because Harry's been paying more attention to her lately than to you? That, and maybe you're jealous because he fancies her as opposed to you? Just a guess," he shrugged.  
  
Hermione closed her eyes and frowned. She shut her book, stood up, faced Ron and said "In a word..yes," and walked out of the Great Hall.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
DAMN, finally done with this retched chapter! I had SUCH hideous writers block trying to write this. That was WAY too freaking long...~_~;;.Don't worry, Hermione won't be heart broken the WHOLE story....just most of it. I have a plan, just go with me on this, ok? Read and Review, and I'll work on the 4th chapter. Later. 


	4. Girl you should be MY girlfriend

Chapter 4  
  
Girl you should be MY girlfriend  
  
A/N: You all have been begging me for the next chapter. Sorry it's taken so long, but writers block will do that to you I suppose.....hope it doesn't suck.  
  
  
  
Harry sat in the Gryffindor common room, at one of the tables, apparently deep in thought. He was slowly bobbing his head, and occasionally writing something down. On closer inspection, you could see that he was wearing a pair of headphones much like the ones Kat owned. And that was how Ron found him when he walked in.  
  
"Harry, you missed a good show in Charms! It was brilliant! Kat obviously said some incantation wrong, 'cause the next thing you know, Flitwick is up on the ceiling holding on for dear life to the light fixture. And then she tried to get him down, which really didn't work-"  
  
And he had to stop there because he was laughing so hard. When he had regained his composure, he turned to Harry again and said, "So, what's up with you?"  
  
It was then that he noticed Harry had headphones on his head. "Hey, isn't that the same thinga-ma-doodle that Kat had?"  
  
Harry nodded and took them off. He handed them to Ron, who put them on his head.  
  
"Hey, isn't this those 'In Step' guys?" Ron asked, bobbing his head to the music.  
  
"Yeah, it is," answered Harry. "And it's N'SYNC, Ron," he added as an afterthought.  
  
Ron took the headphones off and picked up the parchment on which Harry had been writing. "What're you listening to them for? I never knew you liked muggle music."  
  
"Erm....." Harry said uncomfortably. "No particular reason.."  
  
Ron looked at him and said "Now that right there is a load of bull. What're you up to?"  
  
Harry sighed. Apparently he wasn't going to get out of this. "All right. I'm listening to them because..."  
  
"Because..." prompted Ron.  
  
"Because I"m tying to figure out a way to impress Kat," he finished lamely.  
  
"So, you're listening to muggle music to impress Kat. Great plan, mate," Ron said sarcastically.  
  
"No, there's more to it than that," Harry said. "See, this is her favorite band, right?"  
  
"Right," said Ron.  
  
"And her favorite people in her favorite band are Joey and Lance, correct?"  
  
"Yeah, but where are you going with this?" Ron asked, thoroughly confused.  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. "I'm going to dress up like one of them and sing to her."  
  
Ron looked at him for a sec, then burst out laughing again. When he noticed Harry glaring at him, he stopped abruptly. "Oh, so you were serious?"  
  
"Of course I'm serious!" Harry said indignantly.  
  
Ron shrugged. "Sorry. Problem though, Harry. Can you even sing?"  
  
Harry glared at him again and mumbled incoherently.  
  
"I'll take that as a no."  
  
"Well....." Ron tried again. "Can you dance?"  
  
Harry mildly perked up again. "The dancing I can do."  
  
Ron raised an eyebrow. "Since when? As far as I know from the last couple of Yule Balls you're as bad as me, if not worse."  
  
Harry got out of his seat and did some quick fancy footwork, spun around and posed as he came to a stop.  
  
"Whoa! Where'd you learn that?" Ron said, obviously impressed.  
  
"I was hanging out at the mall a lot this summer. There was an arcade, and this one game that I suppose taught you how to dance. I'm pretty good at it. I guess that's where I picked it up from," Harry explained, shrugging and sitting down.  
  
(A/N: That game would be Dance Dance Revolution, and that game equals ROOLZ!!! erm, getting back to the story...~_~;;;)  
  
"Wicked," Ron grinned.  
  
"But there's still the problem that you can't sing," Ron reminded him.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know," Harry said, shaking his head.  
  
"Lemme see the words," Ron said, indicating the lyric sheet on the table.  
  
Harry handed it to him, and then handed him the headphones. Ron pushed the play button and put the phones on his head.  
  
He listened for a while, then said "Actually, this isn't that hard, Harry."  
  
"It is too if you can't sing," Harry muttered.  
  
"Is not," Ron countered. "See, you just have to listen to their voices for a bit, then you start to pick it up. Like this-"  
  
And he began to sing.  
  
"Why don't you be my girlfriend? I'll treat you good! I know you hear your friends when they say you should. 'Cause if you were my girlfriend, I'd be your shining star! The one to show you where you are, girl you should be my girlfriend."  
  
"HOLD IT!" Harry exclaimed as he shut the CD off.  
  
He looked viciously at Ron and said "You never told me you could sing?!"  
  
A small blush crept onto Ron's face. "Well, it never came up."  
  
"But don't you think it's something you might have wanted to mention?"  
  
Ron thought for a second. "No, not really," he said, shaking his head.  
  
Harry stared at him for a while longer, then a wicked grin spread across his face. Ron noticed it and watched Harry warily.  
  
"Harry...you have that 'I'm-going-to-pull-a-crazy-psychopath- Slytherin' look on your face," Ron said nervously.  
  
"I've realized something, Ron," said Harry, steadily advancing on him. "You can sing. I can dance. Since I can't sing, and you can't dance, I believe there is some way that we can help each other..."  
  
Ron started backing away from him. "Harry......."  
  
Harry laughed evilly and pounced on Ron.  
  
  
  
Draco rolled his eyes as he listened to the song. "Yeah, right. Like they really treat their girls like that.....bloody goody-two-shoe Americans...."  
  
He was slumped in a chair in the Slytherin common room, listening to what looked like Kat's cd player. He wore a scowl on his face, and was narrowing his eyes in concentration. Do they honestly expect me to act like them? All honest and good, he thought furiously. He had an image to uphold. Screw 'em, then dump 'em. It was the Slytherin way. The Malfoy way. He frowned. Next thing you know, he'd be joining Hufflepuff house and singing kumbaya around the fireplace.  
  
He rolled his eyes as he remembered his Cousin Mortimer. Poor child had been dropped by his mummy one to many times. It took all Draco had not to beat him with a large stick.  
  
But getting back to the original train of thinking, he thought, Kat was a lot different. She wasn't like those run-of-the-mill Slytherins. Sure, she was a bit on the eccentric side, but nobody was perfect.  
  
He smirked. Correction, nobody but a Malfoy was perfect.  
  
So why was he risking his "I'm-a-sexy-pain-in-the-ass-bastard" reputation on her?  
  
It wasn't just for the thrill of getting something that Potter didn't have, and watching him crumble helplessly as he swept Kat off her feet (though, it was a perk). She was something...special. She treated him like a person, not like the unreachable hot guy that all the other girls seemed to see him as. He saw their looks at him. Heard their furtive whispers to their friends, "Oh my GOD, he is so fine!" And they would be content if he even threw them a glare; they'd dissolve into a puddle of goop. Even those damn goody-good Gryffindors!  
  
They weren't half bad looking, though. He just couldn't imagine, though, all those saints getting down and dirty. Not that he wanted to, that could just be scary. He shuddered inwardly as he imagined Neville getting his freak on.  
  
However, he didn't want a girlfriend that was just solely focused on his looks. As much as nobody would even find this truthful, he wanted someone that saw him for who he was. Someone like Kat.  
  
"Whoa," Draco said, shaking his head. "Getting a bit overly-dramatic there...don't want to be the first Slytherin ever with a heart, now do we?" he said sarcastically.  
  
After all, what would father and the rest of his Death Eater chums think?  
  
"So, in conclusion," Draco said, getting up from his chair, "I'm only going to make a fool out of myself, for a girl,(who, by the way, is nobody my father would approve of), by dressing up as one of those American-white boys and serenading her with music that sounds as if it's a number of choir boys going though puberty, in front of the whole bloody school, in an attempt to make Potter want to throw himself from the astronomy tower, and land at the bottom in a bloody heap, therefore forever ridding me of the 'Golden Boy' and all things affiliated with him thereof."  
  
He nodded, satisfied, and went to raid his closet for the most boy- bandish thing he owned. Which, would be a pair of tight, black leather pants.  
  
(A/N: Hmmm.....Draco in tight black leather pants....::drools over keyboard, sparks and flashiness ensues:: .....damnit..)  
  
  
  
"I can't believe you're making me do this," Ron muttered angrily at Harry, who was surveying himself in the mirror. "I look like a right prat."  
  
"No you-well, yeah. Yeah you do," said Harry, trying to make Ron feel better, but failing miserably. "But hey! I look like one, too, so we can be prats together!"  
  
Ron stared blankly at him. "You're a real mental case, you know that Harry?" he stated, after much deliberation.  
  
Harry shrugged sheepishly. "I'm not really helping, am I?"  
  
"In a word, no," Ron said.  
  
In Harry's attempt to look cool and like an American, he had scrounged around for baggy pants and cool t-shirts. He had settled on a pair of khakis and a black turtle-neck. Ron, who wasn't quite into the dressing up, had donned blue jeans and a white turtle-neck. They has opted to fine tune Harry's voice with a simple spell, so he didn't sound like crap anymore.  
  
"Tell me again why we're doing this?" Ron questioned, looking hopelessly at his hair, which Harry had poofed so that he had a mini-afro.  
  
"To impress Kat," Harry answered, frowning at his hair. The one time he wanted it to stick up, it remained flat. Oh, the irony of the situation!  
  
"Right. Why can't you be like every other guy and just buy her flowers?" Ron said.  
  
"Because I'm not every other guy," Harry said, giving up on his hair.  
  
"Oh yes, that's right," said Ron sarcastically. "We're Mister Harry Potter! Mister Women's man! God's Gift to Women! Soon-to-be-Gilderoy Lockharts prodigy! The Boy who Charmed! The GREAT-"  
  
"OK RON! I get the point!" Harry stated aggrivatedly.  
  
"-CUTIE-MAN!" Ron continued.  
  
"Wait, say WHAT?" Harry interrupted.  
  
"Seriously, those are just half of your many nicknames," Ron said shrugging.  
  
"Is it?" Harry asked, surprise written all over his face.  
  
Ron nodded enthusiastically.  
  
Harry was about to answer, when he heard the bell, scheduling that the last class of the day was through, and it was time for dinner.  
  
"Well Ron. It's now or never," he said, glancing at himself one last time, nervously running a hand through his already hopeless hair.  
  
"I'll settle for never if you're not up to it," Ron said, glancing hopefully at Harry.  
  
"Let's do this," said Harry determinedly, and grabbed Ron and the cd player, and proceeded out of the dorm.  
  
  
  
"My God, I must have reached an all time low," Draco muttered to himself, glaring at his reflection in the mirror.  
  
He was wearing those tight black leather pants, a white muscle shirt, and a unbuttoned shirt over that.  
  
"Ohhhh, I look like a hoodlum!" he moaned. "A hot one," he added as an afterthought. "BUT A HOODLUM NONE THE LESS!"  
  
Even with all the many hair gel products he owned, none were strong enough to keep his hair in a spiked position. Eventually, he just gave up, and slicked it back as usual.  
  
"I really must thank mother for putting me through that period of hell that was the children's choir," he mused. 5 years in it had given a voice to fool anyone into thinking he had been singing for years.  
  
He looked at his watch. Well Malfoy old boy, he told himself, you still have time to forget this ever even happened. Do something productive like your Arithmancy homework..  
  
"Naa," he said, grabbing his cd player. "Let's do this," he muttered, and raced out of the bathroom.  
  
  
  
"Neville, have you seen Harry?"  
  
Hermione, Neville, and Ginny were walking down the halls towards the Great Hall for dinner.  
  
"Um, no Hermione. Not since lunch," Neville answered. "Wonder where he is?" "Come to think of it," Ginny added, "I haven't seen Ron in a while. What do you suppose they're up to?"  
  
Hermione shook her head. "I've no idea. But knowing those two, it's bound to be something that's going to get them expelled."  
  
They laughed heartily as they sat entered the Great Hall. Taking their seats at the table, Hermione looked around for a glimpse of Harry.  
  
Or Ron, she added to herself. He's a friend of yours too you know.  
  
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a rather large shout of "Howdy, Mione!"  
  
She jumped, startled and turned around rather angrily to face her attacker. She sighed inwardly. "Figures.." she muttered.  
  
It was Kat, still decked in Gryffindor regalia.  
  
"Katherine, you DO realize that the Slytherin table is on the OTHER side of the room?" inquired Hermione.  
  
"Ya, but you guys are more fun!" Kat said, plopping down in the seat next to Hermione.  
  
"Uh, Kat-" started Hermione.  
  
"Wassup Nevi?" Kat interrupted, holding out her hand to him.  
  
"Um..nothing much, really," answered Neville, awkwardly shaking her hand.  
  
Kat laughed. "Nevi, you're supposed to give me five, dude, not shake."  
  
Neville blushed sheepishly and said "Oh. I knew that."  
  
They tried again, and got it right, so Kat smiled at him and everything was peachy-daisy.  
  
Hermione was just about to tell Kat that the seat she was sitting in was reserved for Harry, when the doors to the Great Hall swung open.  
  
She, along with the rest of the Great Hall turned to see who was entering.  
  
In strolled Harry and Ron, and they briskly walked through the bewildered faces up to the Head Table. When they reached it, Dumbledore looked at Harry with questioning eyes, though they were twinkling. Harry smiled weakly back at him, and put his cd player down.  
  
"Mr. Potter, what is the meaning of this?" Snape demanded.  
  
"Nothing sir. Just this-" he answered, and turned on his cd.  
  
  
  
I don't know why you care.  
  
The girls from some of the tables who recognized this first line went into hysterics.  
  
He doesn't even know you're there.  
  
All the while he was walking to the Gryffindor table, the eyes of the whole Hall on him.  
  
'Cause he don't love your eyes.  
  
And he don't love your smile.  
  
Girl, you know that ain't fair!  
  
He had reached his destination, and stood before Kat, who was grinning like an idiot up at him. Then Ron started with him.  
  
The middle of the night, is he gonna be by your side  
  
Or will he run and hide  
  
You don't know, 'cause things ain't clear!  
  
And baby when you cry, is he gonna stand by your side  
  
Does the man even know you're alive  
  
Here Harry and Ron leaped on the table.  
  
I got an idea...  
  
And they danced.  
  
Why don't you be my girlfriend?  
  
I'll treat you good!  
  
I know you hear your friends when they say you should.  
  
The girls at the Gryffindor table (not to mention the other tables) were absolutely freaking out, Harry could sure dance! And Ron's voice was heavenly. Hermione was staring in disbelief at them both, but mostly at Harry who looked exactly like one of them boy band members.  
  
'Cause if you were my girlfriend, I'd be your shining star!  
  
The one to show you where you are  
  
Harry looked pointedly at Kat, and he sang,  
  
Girl you should be my girlfriend!  
  
And quite unexpectedly, another voice started, startling Harry and Ron.  
  
Does he know what you feel?  
  
All heads turned to the source of the voice.  
  
Are you sure that it's real?  
  
If the girls in the Hall weren't excited yet, they were now. Draco Malfoy walked into the Great Hall, pointing at Harry as he sang.  
  
Does he ease your mind  
  
Or does he break your stride?  
  
Did you know that love could be a shield?  
  
Harry and Ron looked at each other, shrugged, and sang.  
  
The middle of the night, is he gonna be by your side  
  
Or will he run and hide  
  
You don't know, 'cause things ain't clear!  
  
And baby when you cry, is he gonna stand by your side  
  
Does the man even know you're alive  
  
Draco now leaped to the Slytherin table.  
  
I got an idea...  
  
And the three of them danced.  
  
Why don't you be my girlfriend?  
  
I'll treat you good!  
  
I know you hear your friends when they say you should.  
  
With every thrust of the boys hips, the girls were sent into fits of giddiness. Pansy Parkinson over at the Slytherin table fainted as she watched them dance, the girls were all cheering and screaming, and the boys were torn between the emotions of amusement, jealousy, or disbelief; amusement in the case of the Weasley twins, who were doubled up with laughter to the annoyance of the crazed Potter fans at the Gryffindor table, jealously in the case of all the guys in the Hall who's girlfriends hadn't been paying them a bit of attention since the whole damn thing began, and disbelief in the case of Seamus Finnigan, who just the other day bored all of the 6th year boys with a speech that addressed how all boy bands should be dragged into the middle of the courtyard square and be shot.  
  
'Cause if you were my girlfriend  
  
I'd be your shining star!  
  
The one to show you where you are  
  
Both Harry and Draco sang-  
  
Girl you should be my girlfriend!  
  
It was a mystery to Hermione how Harry had pulled this off, and it was even more of one how the hell Draco Malfoy could look so hot in a pair of black leather pants-wait a minute, did she just think that Malfoy looked HOT?  
  
Ever since I saw your face, nothing in my life has been the same,  
  
Draco got down from the Slytherin table and made his way to the Gryffindor one, where he looked Kat in the eye and sang.  
  
I walk around just saying your name  
  
Without you my world would end!  
  
Harry knelt on the table and took Kat's hand, much to the annoyance of Hermione and Draco.  
  
I looked around this whole damn place  
  
and everything says you were meant to be  
  
And Ron, who ultimately had the best voice out of the three sang-  
  
My girllll-friend, oh!  
  
Ron stood on Harry's left, and Draco (to the delight of the Gryffindor girls) stood on Harry's right. Harry stood up. Let the dancing commence.  
  
Why don't you be my girlfriend?  
  
I'll treat you good!  
  
I know you hear your friends when they say you should.  
  
'Cause if you were my girlfriend  
  
I'd be your shining star!  
  
The one to show you where you are  
  
Girl you should be my girlfriend!  
  
Oh, ohhh, ohh  
  
Girl you should be my girlfriend!  
  
Oh, ohhh, ohh  
  
Girl you should be my girlfriend!  
  
Oh, ohhh, ohh  
  
Girl you should be my girlfriend!  
  
Oh, ohhh, ohh  
  
They all struck finishing poses, and Harry and Draco simultaneously said-  
  
Girl you should be MY girlfriend!  
  
The Great Hall erupted in screams as all the girls rushed the Gryffindor table. The teachers at the head table looked dumbstruck, except Hagrid, who was grinning like a Cheshire cat. "That's me boy!" And Dumbledore, who's eyes were dancing merrily, as he smiled toward the Gryffindor table where Harry and crew were being mauled.  
  
"Harry, Ron, Drac, YOU GUYS ROCK!!!!" Kat exclaimed, as she leapt to the table, and engulfed each in a huge hug.  
  
Harry blushed, Ron laughed, and Draco looked smug.  
  
"Harry, you must be Joey," she said, turning to him. "Drac, you HAVE to be Lance," she said, grinning, and she turned to Ron. "And you must be Justin. Only he doesn't have the afro anymore."  
  
"See?" demanded Ron, punching Harry in the arm. "Told you that was years ago!"  
  
Harry laughed weakly, as he was pat on the back by the Weasleys, and asked for autographs by the many girls that swarmed the table. Ginny was blushing her head off, and was staring up at him in amazement, the other girls were pushing and fighting their way to the front, where Draco was selling autographs, and Ron was shaking hands.  
  
"Hmm. I've never really had much of a thing for Justin, but I just might change my mind," Kat said, smiling at Ron, who grinned back, until he was grabbed by a member of the crowd and pulled in, where he was ambushed.  
  
"And you all did this, just for me?" Kat asked, looking at Harry.  
  
"Erm....yes?" Harry said sheepishly, ears turning pink again.  
  
"Like I said, you guys KICK-ASS!!" she said, and gave him a monstrous hug.  
  
Harry grinned like an idiot, blushing a very interesting shade of magenta.  
  
It was then he realized that something was missing from the happy mass of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin students.  
  
Hermione.  
  
  
  
  
  
So, what did ya think?!?! Like I said, I've been SO low on inspiration, so very sorry this came out so late! It wasn't as funny as I wanted it to be, but you know, what 'choo gonna do, eh? Review please, and I'll try to have the 5th chapter up soon. 


	5. Hermione's point of view....

Chapter 5  
  
Hermione's point of view..  
  
  
  
A/N: Hey all, here's chapter 5. Thanks to those assorted few who keep on encouraging me to write, ti's nice to know people like what you're writing and you're not wasting your time. This chapter is in Hermiones point of view, so we get to hear what she's thinking about all this. And don't worry, she won't be lonely and unhappy the whole story.....just most of it. ^_^. By the way, in the last chapter, I didn't say something so I'm saying it now. I don't own N'SYNC (though first of all, you all probably knew that and second of all why the hell would I want to? No offence to you rabid N'SYNC fans out there though, hehhehheh.).  
  
  
  
  
  
I think it is safe to say that I'm not an envious person.  
  
But as I watched all those girls rush our table, some even shoving me to get closer to Harry and the boys, and then the look of bliss on Harry's face as Katherine gave him a huge hug, I felt jealousy beyond belief.  
  
So I turned around, and ran right out of the hall.  
  
I don't understand how I could feel this much animosity toward one person. It wasn't like me to hold grudges of be anything but nice. Except when I was being bossy or Ron had really ticked me off, but that was expected.  
  
But there was just something about that Katherine woman.....something that made my blood boil.....  
  
Ok, maybe it was the fact that she was all over Harry, but maybe its just me....  
  
I stomped up the stairs toward Gryffindor Tower. The NERVE of her! To come here all of a sudden and take my place? Well, I've got news for you, sister, there are only three, count 'em, THREE Neo-Marauders and we aren't taking any new applicants!!  
  
Ok, so maybe I'm over reacting. After all, we're not really "Neo- Marauders", Ron just came up with the nick name as a joke. But it fits, doesn't it? Ron being someone along the lines of Sirius, me as Lily, and Harry, of course, as his father, James. Oh all right, so we were missing a Lupin and a Peter, but Katherine is certainly no one like him and Peter was a criminal and as much as I detest her I wouldn't be that cruel.  
  
It surprises me that I could get so jealous of someone. Just because Harry has been paying her more attention lately....and flirting with her.....and serenading her....  
  
"Dement!" I exclaimed, and pounded my fist on the wall, startling the picture that was there.  
  
"What are YOU looking at?!" I demanded angrily, and the picture backed into its frame.  
  
He'd never done anything like that for me!  
  
Maybe it's a hint that he doesn't like you in that way, an annoying little voice in my head said.  
  
"Shut up you," I said angrily.  
  
I suppose I had decided I liked Harry in first year, after the whole troll incident. Just something about watching him hand from that trolls arms in an attempt to save me made me feel something for him. As the years passed, and Harry risked his life for us more and more, I guess my little school girl crush increased. i think it'd be safe to say that I'm in love with him.  
  
So why is it that he favors HER over me?  
  
I've known him longer, know more about him, actually am in love with him......it's not fair.  
  
I reached the picture of the Fat Lady. She was talking with a friend.  
  
".....And he looked so handsome down there, dancing around they were. Singing too!"  
  
"Were they, Vi?" asked the Fat Lady.  
  
"Ahem," I said, trying to get their attention.  
  
"Oh, yes dear, password?" asked the Fat Lady.  
  
"Amaretto," I answered dully, and the portrait swung open. I went inside and flopped down upon a couch in front of the fireplace.  
  
Don't you just hate it when nothing goes your way? And I bet the only reason Harry likes her is because she's so pretty. She isn't that smart so to speak, except in maybe Muggle Studies.  
  
I took that thought back though, because I know Harry isn't shallow like that.  
  
But what about Cho then, that annoying voice said.  
  
"He was in 3rd year, he didn't know any better," I answered myself.  
  
All right then, so why doesn't he like YOU?  
  
"Be-because he likes Katherine," I grumbled.  
  
I mean, I suppose I could see why. she was really nice, out going, funny and above all pretty....  
  
"Everything I'm not," I said bitterly.  
  
To tell you the truth, I actually kind of like Katherine. NO, not in a homosexual kind of way. Honestly....she would make a valuable ally in the war against you-know-who, a Slytherin who didn't go bad. As much as I bitched at her, she was still nice to me.  
  
"Unless of course she was just totally oblivious to my obvious hatred towards her," I mused, "but not even she's that dense."  
  
I really didn't mean to be so horrid towards her, but seeing how much more attention Harry gave her, and how he'd been pretty much ignoring me just gets me ticked. You know, like when you like someone, but there's just this one person who the person you like is always flirting with or talking to and that person is always flirting or talking right back to the person you like, and you can't help but hate her because of that fact.  
  
And I'm quite sure Harry knows I like him quite a bit, I've dropped enough hints I would think. Unless he's a complete idiot. He does have his moments. Ron so far is the only one who's talked to me about it. It surprised me a bit, because he's usually oblivious to this king of thing. I'm also sure Ginny has noticed. Our original plan was to just make sure Katherine stayed away from Harry, but I think now it has evolved into an outright war where anybody can win.  
  
"And it's all against her, or for her, the self proclaimed 'Renegade Slytherin', " I muttered.  
  
I wonder when this Renegade War will end?  
  
There was a flurry of voices as the common room door flew open and everyone rushed in from outside. I quickly grabbed a book off the table and buried my nose in it, making sure it wasn't upside down this time.  
  
Everyone was cheering and chanting as Harry and Ron strode in, modest grins on their faces. I will admit, they did do a bang up job. It just would've been more bang up it if had been for me.  
  
Some people were yelling for an encore performance and Ron looked ready to do that , but Harry shook his head and indicated that he wanted to get some sleep, much to the disappointment of all the females present. They all gave him a final round of applause however then started to disperse, with the exception of Seamus, Neville, Dean and Ron.  
  
"Harry, I'll say it again, that was brilliant," Neville said, a bemused expression on his face.  
  
"I second that," Dean said, patting him on the back again.  
  
"I just can't believe you went and did that, even after my whole rant the other day..." Seamus muttered, shaking his head. "Even so, that was still great!"  
  
"Thanks guys," Harry said. "You have no bloody idea how nervous I was though."  
  
"Yeah, before he was even havin' second thoughts," Ron chimed in. "What if Kat doesn't like it he was saying."  
  
"You really like her, don't you Harry?" Neville asked.  
  
"Yeah. She's something else all right," Harry said dreamily, and I couldn't help feel a twinge of anger.  
  
"She's a bit eccentric, isn't she boy-o?" Seamus mused.  
  
"Yeah. But that's what I like about her." Harry said earnestly. "The fact that she doesn't care about what others might say or think about her is something I really admire."  
  
"That, and she's hot," said Dean with a smirk.  
  
"NO, that's not-ok, yeah, she is hot," Harry said with a smile. I narrowed my eyes at my book.  
  
"I've said it once, and I'll say it again," Ron said "They don't make 'em like that at Hogwarts."  
  
"They make 'em ok at Hogwarts...." Harry said. Wonder what he meant by that?  
  
Dean, Seamus, Neville and Ron turned to look at him. "What 'choo talking about Harry, Cho left last year," Ron asked.  
  
"Chang?" Seamus asked. "That cute Ravenclaw seeker? Yeah, she was pretty good."  
  
"Oh, nothing, it's not important," Harry said dismissing the question with a wave of his hand.  
  
The boys looked suspiciously at Harry, who looked innocently back at them. They shrugged.  
  
"Well Harry, if you do indeed end up with Kat, a number of us are going to lose quite a bit of money," Dean said.  
  
"Why?" asked Harry.  
  
"Well, there's a kind of a bet going on around the school that you'll end up with someone else, and the odds are in favor of the other person," Seamus explained.  
  
Harry looked at them in astonishment. "You all are taking bets on my love life?!" he exclaimed.  
  
Personally, I wanted to know who the girl was. After all, what harm could one more rival be?  
  
Note the obvious sarcasm there.  
  
"So, who's the other girl then?" Harry asked.  
  
Yes, do tell.  
  
"Well, it's-"  
  
"Mr. Potter, if you and your fans would kindly turn out your lights and go to bed?"  
  
They turned to see Professor McGonagall standing in the door. Of all the retched timing...  
  
"Professor, it's not even late yet," Harry said.  
  
"That's all very well and good, but you do have classes tomorrow, so off to bed," she said. She turned to go, the turned back around. "By the way, very.....innovative show this evening Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley," she said with a small smile then left.  
  
I must give them praise for that. It is generally very difficult to earn praise from her.  
  
"Way to go Harry, you got McGonagalls approval," said Seamus, clapping him on the back. "But I suppose she's right. Come on, we'll finish talking upstairs."  
  
NO! I must know who that other girl is! It is absolutely imperative that I know! It might be someone I know, and I REALLY don't want to ruin a friendship.  
  
"Ok, just give me a sec ok?" Harry said. The boys nodded, then marched upstairs. I turned back to my book. Probably going to write a love poem to Katherine or something....  
  
"Hey you."  
  
I jumped, startled, and looked up to see Harry smiling at me over the couch. Damnit, I KNEW I should have gotten the invisibility cloak....  
  
"Hey yourself," I answered. "How'd you know I was over here?"  
  
He shrugged. "Dunno. Just a thought."  
  
"Besides," he said with a grin, "you always do this thing when you turn the pages of a book and the page makes this 'flip-pip' noise."  
  
He is just to observant sometimes even for me.  
  
"Oh," I said.  
  
"Where were you after dinner?" Harry asked. "I saw you at the beginning, but then you were gone, so....."  
  
"Oh, I guess I just wasn't feeling to well," I said. It wasn't really a lie, feeling mad isn't exactly feeling well.  
  
"Oh. You feeling any better?" he asked.  
  
Another think I loved about Harry. He was always so concerned about others. Even if it meant getting his own self hurt in the process.  
  
"Um, sort of. I should be better tomorrow."  
  
"Oh, ok. Did you like the show?" he asked, a smile on his face.  
  
As much as I wanted to yell "No, I hated it because it was all for that Katherine woman!" I restrained myself, and said instead "I thought it was very....creative and very interesting."  
  
I watched as the smile on his face dropped ever so slightly. I hated making him upset or angry, and I wanted to cry all of a sudden.  
  
"Oh. Well, ok then. I'll, uh, see you in the morning then, ok 'Mione?" He turned to go.  
  
Ohhhhhh damnit, damnit damnit, DAMNIT!!!!!  
  
I jumped up from my spot on the couch. "Harry!"  
  
He turned around. "Yes?"  
  
"I um, thought you were excellent tonight," I said, trying to hide the slight waver in my voice. "An-and it was brilliant and I liked it a lot and I'm sorry I wasn't down there at the end." Small tears ran down my face and I didn't know why.  
  
He smiled and walked back towards me. He gave me a hug. "That's what wanted to hear," he said softly. He pulled back. "But, it can't be helped if you weren't feeling well, so don't worry about it."  
  
I nodded ok.  
  
He smiled again, and kissed my forehead. "Good night, Hermione," he said, then turned and went back upstairs.  
  
I watched him as he walked back, with a smile on my face.  
  
Now I was more determined then ever to win him, and I would not stop at anything....  
  
Even if it meant getting on the Quidditch Team....  
  
  
  
That's chapter 5. Chapter 6 is- well, you'll just have to see. Hope you liked it. 


	6. Quidditch Tryouts

Chapter 6  
  
A/N: La la la, here's chapter 6.  
  
"Mr. Potter!"  
  
Harry turned to see Madam Hooch walking briskly towards him. "Good morning, Professor," Harry said.  
  
"I assume that you remember you're the only member of the Gryffindor team left, correct?" she asked.  
  
"Um, yes ma'am," he said.  
  
"Well then, you understand that you're captain and you need to hold tryouts to fill the rest of the positions on the team," she said. "Would you like to schedule a time to use the field?"  
  
"Oh yeah.....um...how 'bout Saturday, since there are no classes," Harry suggested.  
  
"Very well then," Madam Hooch said. "Tryouts on Saturday. Be sure to inform your house."  
  
Harry nodded. She smiled and walked off. It was Sunday morning, and Harry was walking to breakfast. He entered the Great Hall, and was greeted by various comments and congratulations. Apparently, everyone was stoked about last night. He flopped into his seat with a "Hullo," to Ron and Hermione, and rifled through his bag for a piece of parchment.  
  
"Wha' 'choo doingk Harry?" Ron asked through a mouthful of porridge.  
  
"Making a notice about Quidditch tryouts," he said, pulling various colored ink quills out of his bag. Ron almost choked.  
  
"Quidditch tryouts?!" he demanded. "When did you decide on this?!"  
  
"Just a moment ago, I was talking to Madam Hooch and she asked-" Harry explained.  
  
"Bloody hell, I've got work to do, catch you all later!" Ron exclaimed, jumping up from the table. He turned around and almost bumped into Kat. "Oh, hey Kat, gotta go!"  
  
"Okie dokie!" she said, and he tore off.  
  
"Geez, why's Ron in such a hurry?" she asked Harry.  
  
"He's just found out that I'm holding Quidditch tryouts on Saturday, so I guess he's going to go practice," he replied.  
  
"Ah. You gonna go out for the team Hermione?" Kat said, nudging her.  
  
"Of course not, I can't play at all..." Hermione said loftily, obviously very involved in the book she was reading.  
  
"Oh," Kat said. "Well, I'ma grab some food and bounce, better see how Ron's doing out there."  
  
"Oh, okay," Harry said, a tint of disappointment in his voice.  
  
"Ah, don't worry, I'll be back later," she said with a grin. "Wouldn't dream of leaving my favorite Gryffindors hangin'." She waved bye, grabbed a slice of toast, and skipped out of the hall.  
  
"Funny," Hermione muttered.  
  
"What's funny?" Harry asked.  
  
"Well, it's the first time since we've been back that Katherine's been over here and Malfoy-"  
  
"What about me Granger?"  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Spoke too soon."  
  
Draco stood behind them, arms crossed. "Where's Kat?" he demanded.  
  
"Like I'd really tell you," Harry scoffed.  
  
"She's down at the Quidditch pitch with Ron," Ginny said, walking up.  
  
"Gin!" Harry exclaimed.  
  
"Oops, sorry Harry," she said.  
  
Hermione looked up from her book and sent her a look. Ginny stared defiantly back at her. She didn't look sorry at all, and it wasn't like Ginny to do something against Harry.  
  
"Hmmm. Thank you, Virginia. Maybe your family isn't so worthless after all."  
  
"Shove it, Malfoy," Ginny growled. "And don't call me Virginia."  
  
He shrugged. "As you wish, firebug." He turned to Harry. "If anyone needs me, I'll be snogging with Kat."  
  
"Ha, in your dreams, Malfoy," Harry said with a glare.  
  
"You're SO right!" Malfoy answered, smirking at him as he walked off.  
  
"Grrr, I can't STAND that guy!" Harry growled in his direction.  
  
"One thing's for sure, his insults are certainly losing their touch," Ginny said dryly.  
  
Grabbing his stuff, Harry turned to Hermione. "I'll see you later, 'Mione." Not waiting for an acknowledgment he rushed off after him.  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes and went back to her book.  
  
"Figures..."  
  
The days past, and in the evenings you could usually find Ron and Harry out on the Quidditch pitch practicing.  
  
"Ron I'm gonna throw it again, see if you can block it!" Harry hollered from mid-field.  
  
"Right!" Ron yelled back from the goal posts.  
  
Harry never really considered himself much of a Chaser, but Ron had to practice. Tomorrow though, the old Chasers, Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, and Alicia Spinnet were going to be there to test the aspiring Keepers. Madam Hooch agreed to play Keeper for the auditioning Chasers.  
  
Harry sped towards the goals where Ron was hovering, when he dropped down suddenly, reappeared on the left, went over, dropped again, to the right, up over, and Ron looked from left to right, following Harry with his eyes, when Harry suddenly threw the ball, and Ron dived to block it, whacking it back with the tail of his broom, almost missing it.  
  
"Not bad, Ron," Harry said with a grin. "Accio Quaffle!" The Quaffle zoomed back into his hands.  
  
"Harry, what the hell was that?" Ron asked, flying up to him. Harry grinned.  
  
"Little maneuver I came up with. Call it the Figure 8. I have a whole bunch more in my head for the year."  
  
"Very effective," Ron said with a smile.  
  
They drifted to the ground and stepped lightly off their brooms. "So, think I stand a chance?" Ron asked.  
  
"Definitely," said Harry. "But I'm not allowed to play favorites."  
  
"Yeah, I know," Ron said with a sigh. "But, the best man'll win, right?" he said brightening up.  
  
Harry laughed. "Yeah."  
  
"Cool. Let's get going, I gotta get some sleep for tomorrow," Ron said. Harry agreed and they put their stuff and made their way to the castle.  
  
They didn't see someone skitter down from the stands and run up to the castle behind them.  
  
And that person didn't see someone also come down from the stands and run back to the castle.  
  
  
  
"Good morning Gryffindor House!" Harry said cheerfully. Saturday morning. Quidditch tryouts. And what a turn out.  
  
There were many students that he knew like Seamus, Dean, Ron, and surprisingly Neville, and the Creevey brothers, and Ginny, and numerous other students from the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th years.  
  
"Um, I'm Harry, the team captain-" he began.  
  
There was a cheer from Ron and them, along with a number of shrieks from the girls. He smiled sheepishly and continued. "-and we're here today to determine which of you few will be appointed to play on our house team.'  
  
"There are 6 positions open, and they are the Chasers, the Beaters, and the Keeper," he said, ticking the positions off on his fingers. "The Chasers handle the Quaffle," here he held up the bright red ball, "and they try to get it through those hoops over there. If they do, they get 10 points.'  
  
"The Keeper-"  
  
Cheer from Ron.  
  
"-flies around the goal posts and tries to prevent the Chasers from scoring."  
  
He indicated to the bludgers. "Now, I'm not gonna take these out yet, as my old captain told me they're 'nasty little buggers', and I don't want anyone to get hurt. These are bludgers. They fly around the field trying to knock you off your broom,"  
  
"But don't worry," he added hastily at the look of sudden fear on some of the new second years who had never even HEARD of Quidditch faces, "because we have people who keep them in check. They are called Beaters. They fly around with a big stick and hit the bludgers at the opposing team.'  
  
"And the last position is Seeker. That's me," he added with a smile that about knocked out half the 3rd year girls in the front row. A roar of laughter from Ron and Harry rolled his eyes, a slight blush on his face. He still found it peculiar his affect on most girls.  
  
"Anyway, the Seeker flies around the whole entire game, searching for this-"  
  
He opened a little door in the box of Quidditch balls and pulled out the walnut sized ball. "The Golden Snitch. If the Seeker catches it, you get 150 points. He catches this, the game is over. If I catch this.." he paused here for dramatic effect, " we win."  
  
Everyone cheered again.  
  
"The problem is that it's wicked fast and damn near impossible to see, but I can usually manage," he said, flashing his dashing smile again.  
  
There was a thunk as a second year fell out of her seat, then promptly got herself settled again. Harry hit his head with his hand and reminded himself not to be so DAMN charming anymore.  
  
"Right, so any questions?" he asked, scanning the crowd for hands. One popped up from the very back. "Yes, hand in the very back."  
  
The owner of the hand stood up. Harry did a double take; it was Hermione!  
  
"What about commentator? Lee left remember, so we don't have one."  
  
"What are you getting at here?" Harry asked, amazed.  
  
She rolled her eyes, hands on her hips. "Well, I wouldn't be asking if I wasn't interested in the position, now would I?"  
  
Harry still continued to gaze confusedly up at the stands. "You- you're interested in trying out for commentator?"  
  
It made no sense. Hermione didn't like Quidditch. She had always made that quite clear. She thought it was dangerous and didn't see why Harry enjoyed 'risking his life' like that . As far as he knew, she had never even TOUCHED a Quidditch book. She couldn't even say Wronski Feint right.  
  
"Me too Harry!"  
  
Harry turned crimson and turned to the direction of the voice. Kat was waving at him from the bleachers.  
  
"K-Kat?"  
  
"Yeah! Wassup bro?" Kat grinned, again, decked out in Gryffindor colors.  
  
"Erm....Kat, you're not even in Gryffindor, what are you doing here?" Harry asked. "Not that I mind you being here," he added quickly.  
  
"Well, as I understand, commentator just announces what's going on, right? So why does it matter what house that person is in?" she explained.  
  
Harry looked to Madame Hooch for help, because he was thoroughly confused. She nodded, so he said, "Okay, you can try out for commentator."  
  
"Whoo-hoo!" Kat yelled. "You're off the heezy-fo'-sheezy, Harry!!"  
  
Harry blushed, assuming this to be a compliment (which it was), much to Hermione's annoyance.  
  
"What about me?!" she demanded, scaring some of the students in front of her.  
  
"Yeah, you can, too," Harry said warily.  
  
She sat down satisfied.  
  
"Shut up Ron!" Harry said, before Ron could even start laughing. Ron waved cheerily at him.  
  
"Okay.....with that established...shall we begin?"  
  
  
  
"Mount your broom, and begin on my whistle. 3, 2, tweet!!"  
  
It went on like this all morning, Madame Hooch, Harry, Alicia, Angelina, and Katie judging the students on things like technique, flying ability, speed and talent. They'd seen a number of spectacular candidates, and some....not so spectacular....  
  
"Bobby, watch where you're going!" Harry yelled.  
  
"Huh?" yelled Bobby, 3rd year, who was trying out for Beater. Except he wasn't paying attention, and didn't see the Bludger fly straight at him, knocking him off his broom.  
  
"Shit," Harry muttered and hopped on his broom, and zoomed to where Bobby was falling and caught him and floated back to the ground. Madame Hooch took care of the bludger.  
  
Amid cheers of relief, Harry landed and sat Bobby on the ground. "You ok?" he asked.  
  
Bobby nodded. Harry tried looking stern, but failed miserably. He instead smiled. "Listen, I know you're probably excited about this, but don't get so excited that you forget where you are, ok?"  
  
Bobby nodded again and smiled weakly up at Harry.  
  
"You'd better go see Madame Pomfrey just in case, ok mate?" Harry said, helping him up.  
  
Bobby ran off and Harry turned back to the list of people. "Ok, next is, Ronald Weasley," he said.  
  
Ron hopped down from the stands and ran over to stand in front of Harry. "Which position are you trying out for Ron," Harry asked with a smile.  
  
"Keeper, sir," Ron answered, trying hard not to laugh.  
  
"Ok, go over there then and wait for Madame Hooch's instructions."  
  
Ron ran with his broomstick over to the end of the field by the goal posts.  
  
"Mount your broom," Madame Hooch called. "On my whistle begin. 3, 2, tweet!!"  
  
Ron shot into the air and hovered in front on the goal posts, a look of determination on his face.  
  
"Go Ron, kick some ass!"  
  
Kat.  
  
Alicia, Angelina and Katie flew into the air, Katie with the Quaffle.  
  
"Goooooood Morning Gryffindor House!! Welcome to today's show, Ron Weasley vs. Ex-Chasers Alicia Spinnet, Angelina Johnson, and Katie Bell!! We're sure in for a show today!"  
  
Harry turned to look at the stands to see that Kat was standing, hands cupped around her mouth, yelling at the top of her lungs.  
  
"Um, Katie has the Quaffle, and is zooming towards the up-and-coming keeper, Ron Weasley!"  
  
Harry turned again, as he saw that Hermione was also standing up.  
  
"Bell passes to Spinnet, Spinnet to Johnson, and back to Spinnet, she shoots and-"  
  
"Ohh! Nice save by Weasley!" Hermione interrupted. "Looks like they're going to regroup and try again..."  
  
Kat looked at her in amazement, then grinned. Hermione glared defiantly back.  
  
Madame Hooch nodded her head in approval at Ron's block and wrote some stuff down.  
  
Tired of yelling, Hermione pointed her want at her throat and said "Sonorous!" and her voice amplified throughout the field. "Bell zooming toward the goal-"  
  
Kat, seeing what she did, performed the spell too, and said "But she's not getting' past Weasley's quick reaction time and fast reflexes!"  
  
Another goal blocked by Ron. The crowd cheered, they were really getting into this. Ron was doing quite well.  
  
It almost felt like a real Quidditch game. Harry had even started to unknowingly look around for the Snitch. Kat and Hermione were doing an excellent job, and he supposed that they thought that what they were doing was some kind of audition.  
  
He yelled out to the girls from the side of the field. "Hawkshead Attacking Formation!" He had picked this one up from the Quidditch World Cup in fourth year.  
  
The girls zoomed closely together, Angelina in the center, slightly ahead of Katie and Alicia, bearing down upon Ron.  
  
"Ah! The Hawkshead Attacking Formation!" Kat said. "Classic maneuver used frequently by the Irish National Quidditch Team!"  
  
Angelina made as though to dart up with the Quaffle, and dropping it to Katie.  
  
"Porskoff Ploy!" Hermione exclaimed. "A tricky little maneuver meant to confuse the opposing teams Chasers on who really has the Quaffle, leaving the real one open to score!"  
  
Since when did Hermione know so much about Quidditch, Harry asked himself. He was impressed. And Kat, too, who came from America, where Quidditch wasn't really the national sport.  
  
Katie passed to Alicia, who dropped it to Angelina who had backed down and in front of the girls, and threw with all her might towards the goal. Ron was about to block it, but noticed Katie coming out of nowhere to smack the ball into the hoop on his left. He backed up and shot downwards as Katie hit the ball towards the goal with her tail, Ron catching it just barely.  
  
"Another brilliant save by Keeper Ron Weasley!" Kat and Hermione exclaimed.  
  
All right, time to try one of my new formations, Harry said to himself. "Potter Ploy!"  
  
The girls nodded and all of a sudden rushed the goal post, passing the ball so fast Ron was having a hard time keeping up.  
  
"Potter Ploy! Must be new, they're moving as fast as lightening!" Kat said.  
  
"Correction, lightening BOLTS, as in the scar on Harry's head!" Hermione said.  
  
The ball was shot, Ron dived, but missed by an inch.  
  
"Ooh, too bad!" Kat said.  
  
"So close!" Hermione added.  
  
The onlookers cheered anyway and Harry sent out another command. "Figure 8,"  
  
Ron grinned and got himself ready.  
  
"Version 2!"  
  
Ron looked surprised, he had been setting himself up for the original Figure 8 Harry had taught him yesterday. Now, all 3 Chasers were moving in a complicated Figure 8 and Ron was having a bit of trouble seeing where the ball was.  
  
"Ronnie is the best, better than the rest! He's the best from east to west!" Kat encouraged.  
  
Ron narrowed his eyes and out of the corner of his eyes saw the ball zoom toward the right side goal. He dived for it, let go of the broom, jumped for the hoop, swung up and around knocking the ball out of the way.  
  
"Holy crackers and cheese, WHAT A SAVE!" Kat exclaimed.  
  
The crowd below exploded with cheers and Harry stared at Ron in amazement.  
  
"O-okay. Great! Come on down then," Harry said, clapping his hands.  
  
Ron pulled out his wand and said "Accio Broomstick!" and the Cleansweep came soaring towards him. He jumped on, and floated slowly to the ground.  
  
Angelina, Katie and Alicia came over to Harry. "He's bloody excellent Harry. We gave it our all." Harry nodded. Ron came over to them, and Harry grinned. "Very good Ron, nice job." He quietly added to him "Way to smash the competition, eh mate?"  
  
Ron grinned in response, an took another bow as the crowd cheered again. Kat and Hermione seemed to be winding down. "That looks like that's it for the spectacular show put on by Ron Weasley," Hermione said.  
  
"So, thank you Gryffindor House, and Good Night!" Kat finished, waving.  
  
There were more assorted cheers commending Kat and Hermione for their excellent job. Harry had a sudden inspiration and ran over to talk to Madame Hooch. She nodded, and Harry grinned. He returned to the crowd and said "Well, I hope Ron's audition didn't put any of you off about trying out," Harry said jokingly. "Without further ado, how about our next person, Virginia Weasley?"  
  
The remainder of the auditions were relatively uneventful. Ginny tried out for Chaser, and did a decent job of getting the ball past Madame Hooch. A little boy named Joey, second year, also tried out for Chaser, and for being such a small kid he did a pretty good job. Neville went for Chaser as well, as did Seamus, Dean was just there to watch. The Creevey brothers tried out for Beaters, and they were doing great; it seemed brothers tended to have a certain connection with each other that was essential to being a Beater. That was until Dennis hit the bludger in the wrong direction, towards the crowd, and it looked as though it was going to hit, when Colin dived out of nowhere and smacked the bludger out of the way. Dennis laughed weakly and scratched his head. "Oops. Sorry!" There were a few more promising candidates, too.  
  
At the conclusion of the auditions, which was late that afternoon, Harry addressed the crowd. "Well, I'd like to congratulate all of you on the great job you've done! Positions should be up by tomorrow morning, and for those who make the team, there's a mandatory meeting Monday evening. All right then? Good. See you all later!"  
  
Everyone started to disperse from the stands, and Madame Hooch turned to Harry.  
  
"I think you're going to have a very strong team this year, Mr. Potter," she said, shaking his hand. "Come to my office this evening so we can discuss it." Harry agreed, and asked Katie, Alicia, and Angelina if they could come, too. They said sure, they were planning on staying in Hogsmeade that evening anyway.  
  
Harry had a pretty good idea how the team would turn out. He had seen many good candidates, but he was confident that Madame Hooch and the girls had seen the same stuff he had.  
  
Ron, Hermione, and Kat came up to greet him.  
  
"Harry, way to moderate this whole lil' shindig," Kat said impressed. "You have a real leader streak in you."  
  
Harry blushed again. "Yeah, well..."  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes.  
  
"And YOU," Kat said, turning to Ron. "What the hell was THAT?! That was freakin' off the HOOK, yo!" she exclaimed, patting him on the back. "That kamikaze leap at the end, I was like 'DUDE, what the rabid chipper monkey is he doing?!' You kicked some serious boo-tae, bud!"  
  
Ron grinned. "Thanks Kat."  
  
"How'd you like my commentating Harry," Hermione asked.  
  
"I didn't know you knew that much about Quidditch. You don't even like it! But I am impressed," Harry said.  
  
"How 'bout me? Think I was loud enough?" Kat asked thoughtfully.  
  
"Oh yeah, you were great!" he said enthusiastically. "You're really great at, um, narrating action and making it sound interesting!" he said, nodding his head like there was no tomorrow. Hermione narrowed her eyes, but Kat looked ecstatic.  
  
"Wow, you think? Thanks so much!" she grinned and threw her arms around his neck. He adopted a very goofy grin and he felt like melting right there into a puddle of mush, while Ron was trying very hard to keep a straight face (and failing horribly might I add), and Hermione was staring daggers at Kat. Kat released him and said "Well, it's getting late, almost time for dinner. Should we get going?"  
  
"Probably. I'll have to put this stuff away first though so-" Harry began.  
  
"That's ok, we can go over without you!" Kat said cheerily. "You can catch up when you're done. Don't worry, we'll be fine," she assured him at the look of protest on Harry's face. "Shall we be off then?" she said, turning to Ron.  
  
Ron looked to Harry. "You going to be all right mate?"  
  
"Yeah...this shouldn't take very long," Harry sighed.  
  
"No, I meant...erm..." He looked pointedly at Hermione who looked like she wanted to hurt something.  
  
"Oh. Er, I should be ok.....I hope," he added as an afterthought.  
  
"Ok then mate," he said and walked with Kat back to the castle.  
  
Harry turned to Hermione. "Erm..."  
  
"I'm going to the library," she announced, and spun on her heel and marched off.  
  
"O......k" said Harry, a bit confused. He then sighed as he realized he had to put everything away himself. "Should've seen that one coming a mile away..." he said dryly.  
  
Sunday morning found crowds of Gryffindor students pushing their way to the front of the hoard trying to see the results of the Quidditch tryouts.  
  
"Shove over, c'mon, let me through!" said Ron, elbowing people out of the way.  
  
Harry was actually at the very back of the common room, smiling to himself, watching the crowds of excited people.  
  
There was a triumphant yelp from the front of the crowd which could be recognized as Ron's.  
  
"Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!!! Whoo-hoo!" he exclaimed, jumping up and down like a maniac, waving his hands, and hugging people, while those who had been at the auditions clapped and cheered. Ron bounced over to Harry and swept him up in a huge hug, picking him up off the ground and dancing around yelling "Thank you! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!"  
  
Harry laughed and Ron put him down. He stuck out his hand and said "Welcome to the team, mate."  
  
Ron grabbed his hand and shook it heartily, all the while a huge grin plastered on his face. He then gave another whoop, and ran off to go write a letter to his parents.  
  
Harry smiled and shook his head, then looked over a the rest of the students.  
  
The Creevey brothers were dancing around in a circle; they had been appointed Beaters.  
  
Ginny and Neville were chatting happily. It surprised everyone at the tryouts that Neville did such a good job on his audition for Chaser, considering his awful experience with a broomstick in 1st year. Madame Hooch was a bit wary about it, but Katie, Angelina, Alicia and Harry convinced her to at least let him try.  
  
Seamus was joking around with Dean. He hadn't made it, but he seemed to be taking it well.  
  
Little Joey was smiling in a chair by the fireplace. He was the only 2nd year on the team. That didn't mean to say he would suck, he'd make an excellent Chaser, and seeing as he was the youngest, he'd probably end up Captain eventually.  
  
"Good Mornin' Gryffindor Tower!" a voice rang out.  
  
Harry turned pink, looking around for the source of the voice.  
  
Heads turned as Kat strolled through the confused faces of the Gryffindors. How the hell did she get in?  
  
"Hey, how ya doing?" she greeted. "Nice to see you. What's up? Just here to check something. Hey Harry!"  
  
"H-hey Kat," he said, cursing himself for how nervous and floaty he got around her. "What are you doing here? And what's more, how'd you get it?"  
  
"Just here to check how I did. And in answer to your other question, Ronnie let me in. He was on his way to deliver a letter so I bumped into him coming up here and he let me in," she explained, grinning at the end. "So, where's dat there list...." she said, setting off to locate it.  
  
It was now that Hermione decided to come downstairs.  
  
"Good morn-what the hell is SHE going here?!" she exclaimed, running down the stairs and stopping with her hands on her hips in front of Harry.  
  
"Um, well, she's kind of here to see how she did yesterday," Harry said nervously.  
  
"Hey, is that Hermione? Hey Hermione! Hey, look! Listen! Hey, hey, hey! Look, listen, hey, look, hey-"  
  
"I get the point Katherine," Hermione said, glaring in her direction.  
  
(Hehehe, sorry, little Navi moment there.....you DO know who Navi is right?? Annoying little fairy from Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time? No? OK, NEVERMIND then.....)  
  
Hermione walked over to the back of the room where Kat was looking at the list.  
  
"Looks like we're gonna be partners," Kat said cheerily, grinning like a Cheshire cat.  
  
"Excuse me?" Hermione said, an eyebrow raised.  
  
Kat pointed at the paper, and Hermione narrowed her eyes at it, scanning it.  
  
Seeker- Harry Potter Chaser(s)- Joseph Cantrelli Virginia Weasley Neville Longbottom Beater(s)- Colin Creevey Dennis Creevey Keeper- Ronald Weasley Commentator(s)- Hermione Granger Katherine Love  
  
Her eyes went huge.  
  
"WHAAAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!!!!!!"  
  
Somewhere in the depths of the castle, Professor Dumbledore stared fixedly at his chess game.  
  
"It seems Miss Granger has just found out she and Miss Love are commentating," he said dryly.  
  
"I would deem that correct," Professor McGonagall said loftily. "Your move."  
  
  
  
Hmmm....I'm not exactly too happy with this chapter, but hey, at least I'm actually having some kind of inspiration ^_^;;;;;;. Stay tuned for chapter 7 (which I have to find because I've lost it or something.....) 


	7. Revolutionary Realizations

Ch.7 Revolutionary Realizations.....  
  
A/N: Ok, I'ma try this out. This chapter holds a bit of, um.....random- ness. LOL. You might have a bit of a time trying to figure out "ok, what the HELL does this have to do with the story?" but this is the result of when a little thing called BORED-NESS happens to you. ~_~;;;; Oh yeah, and to keep you happy, a little bit of H/Hr goodness.  
  
"Hey Harry!"  
  
Harry turned around to allow Ron to catch up with him. "Yeah Ron?"  
  
Ron slowed down, panting as he reached him. "I think you'd better come see this."  
  
"Why, what's up?" Harry asked, a curious look on his face.  
  
"Well-it's-oh, come on!" Ron said, seizing his arm and dragging him away.  
  
"But what about class?" Harry asked, confused.  
  
"Oh, trust me, this is MUCH more interesting than any lecture Binns could give on Moblin Rebellions," Ron said, nodding vigorously.  
  
Truth be told, ANYTHING was more interesting than any lecture Binns could give on Moblin Rebellions.  
  
Harry, thoroughly confused, had no choice but to let Ron drag him along. It wasn't long before they reached the courtyard, where a large group of students had gathered. Ron pushed and shoved his way into the center with Harry in tow, and Harry felt his jaw drop.  
  
Hermione was on the left end of the circle, holding a sword, glaring defiantly at the other end of the circle, where Kat was standing, also holding a sword, and wearing a pair of red shorts, and buttoned blue jacket with ruffles and tassels on it.  
  
"Wh-what the hell is going on?!" Harry exclaimed, looking from girl to girl.  
  
"Well," Kat began with a grin, "I was reading this comic book, and I thought, hey, wouldn't it be cool if I could do that in real life? So, I found 2 swords just hanging on the wall, and I found Hermione, so here we are!" she finished with a broad sweep of her arms.  
  
Harry looked to Hermione with a shocked expression on his face. "And you agreed to this?!"  
  
She put a hand on her hip and glared at him. "I have my reasons."  
  
"And what would those be?"  
  
Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "I have certain things to prove to myself by beating a certain other person that a certain other other person is smitten with."  
  
It was either nobody caught that , or they chose to ignore it. Harry, however, got the message loud and clear, and his eyes widened.  
  
She's dueling her over me?!  
  
His mouth opened and closed like a goldfishes, until Ron nudged him back to his senses.  
  
"Hermione, regardless, it isn't like you to make reckless decisions like this," he said exasperatedly.  
  
She shot him another defiant glare, then turned back to face Kat. She lifted her sword and took a dueling stance.  
  
"Kat-Hermione, please reconsider," Harry pleaded, torn between anxiety and embarrassment, considering this was about him, whether anyone knew it or not. "You don't even know how to duel!"  
  
"I read a bit about it in a book, I know enough, so SHUT UP Harry!" she snapped.  
  
Kat chuckled on the other side of the circle and also took a fighting stance. "Ready?"  
  
"Hermione-" Harry tried again.  
  
"Begin!" she yelled, and lunged.  
  
Kat raised her sword into the air. "For the Revolution of the World!" she exclaimed, and dived to the center.  
  
Clash after clash of the swords, Harry got more and more anxious. The crowd was cheering, and Ron was nervously standing next to Harry, as worried as he was.  
  
Harry watched as Hermione thrust her sword at Kat, but Kat sprung backwards in a n amazing acrobatic feat, landed on her feet, and sprung forwards, sword out towards Hermione.  
  
"Hermione MOVE!" Harry exclaimed. It surprised him a bit, he had thought if anything he'd be more concerned about Kat.  
  
Hermione skid out of the way and rolled back onto her feet, sword at ready.  
  
Harry reluctantly tore his eyes away from the match as he felt that Ron nudge him again. "What?" Ron pointed to the other side of the circle, where Harry could see Malfoy watching Kat's every move anxiously. Quite frankly, Harry didn't care right now if Malfoy was dancing around naked with a tea cozy on his head, he was more concerned about Hermione.  
  
Kat.  
  
He couldn't take too much more of this. "Ron, how much longer do you think this is going to take?" he said, eyes never leaving the circle.  
  
Ron shrugged worriedly. "Dunno...I reckon it'll end when someone's rose gets knocked off," he said, indicating the roses attached to the girls' shirts, gold on Hermione, green on Kat.  
  
This is insane, Harry thought to himself. "Those roses are too small of a target to hit accurately, someone is going to get seriously hurt," he muttered to himself. "Why didn't they just duel like normal wizards?!"  
  
There was a gasp from the crowd as Kat's sword just narrowly missed hitting Hermione, and instead, a brown lock of hair floated softly to the ground.  
  
It was no good. Harry set his jaw firmly and set off again to the middle of the circle, but Ron held him back.  
  
"Harry, what do you think you're doing?!" he hissed, looking at him wide eyed.  
  
"Stopping this before someone gets hurt," he said determinedly. He wrenched his arm out of Ron's hand, and kept going.  
  
"Yeah, but, what if that someone is YOU?!"  
  
Too late to turn back now, he charged to the middle and skidded to a stop, but not noticing Hermione charging blindly towards Kat.  
  
"Girls, stop-"  
  
It happened in a split second. A sword clattered, a rose scattered, and a searing pain shot through Harry's arm as he sunk to the ground.  
  
"Oh my God, Harry!" Kat exclaimed, dropping immediately to his side. He was holding his upper arm tightly, and red was seeping quickly through his sleeve. He winced slightly as he looked up to see Hermione staring down at him with a mixture of shock, horror, anger, and extreme sympathy.  
  
"Harry, I'm-I," she began, but didn't finish, because she passed out. The crowd around them were freaking out, and Ron and Malfoy came running. They looked at each other for a second when they reached the center, then turned away.  
  
"Harry, are you all right?" Ron asked, his voice full of concern.  
  
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm all right," he answered, taking his hand away from his arm to see how badly it was cut. It was pretty deep, and was oozing blood.  
  
"you're such an idiot," Ron said, shaking his head hopelessly, looking at the cut. "Such a bloody always concerned about everyone but yourself idiot."  
  
"Kat, are you all right?" Malfoy asked, with what harry was surprised to hear, real concern.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little shaken is all," she said, with a small smile. She now looked to Hermione. "I think someone better call Madame Pomphrey, 'Mione's out of it," she said with some urgency. "And you better get your arm checked too Harry," she added.  
  
"Yeah," Ron said, a hint of worry in his voice. "And we'd better hurry too, before-"  
  
"What is going on here?!" a voice thundered.  
  
All the hustle and bustle stopped dead, as a hush came over the crowd. Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, and Professor Dumbledore came striding into the courtyard, and a group of students parted to admit them into the circle.  
  
"Potter, what the hell-" Snape began, but Dumbledore held up a hand.  
  
"I'll ask the questions Severus, thank you," he said firmly. "Now, Mr. Potter, would you care to explain what is going on here?" There was no twinkle in his eyes now.  
  
Harry opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted immediately by Kat.  
  
"It was my fault, sir," she said decidedly.  
  
"What?" Snape asked, head snapping back to look at Katherine.  
  
"I beg your pardon Miss Love?" Dumbledore asked turning to face her.  
  
"It wasn't Harry's fault, sir," she said a bit more bravely as she got to her feet. "It was mine. I started the duel, it was all my idea, Harry was just trying to stop it."  
  
"Kat, what are you doing, let me-" Harry hissed at her.  
  
"Hush you," she whispered back, kicking his foot slightly.  
  
She was going to get herself expelled, Harry thought. She's going to take all the blame and get herself expelled. He opened his mouth to protest, but he felt a hand on his shoulder shutting him up. It was Malfoy. He looked at Harry seriously and muttered "This isn't the time to play hero." "Katherine, what on earth could have possessed you to even consider such a thing?!" Snape exploded. Kat stood her ground however.  
  
"I saw a challenge, Uncle, and as you've told me before, Snapes don't turn down challenges," she stated.  
  
Snape look like he wanted to protest, but McGonagall jumped in. "That may be all well and good, Miss Love, but Rose Duels are forbidden at this school!"  
  
Kat looked surprised. "There's such thing?"  
  
"Of course, where else would you have gotten the idea?" McGonagall said wearily.  
  
"From a comic book. I thought it was fake, but it looked interesting so-"  
  
"Well, Miss Love," Dumbledore interrupted. "It seems as though there is a fine line between fantasy and reality, and you've just overstepped it."  
  
Kat bowed her head. She held out her sword. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry," she said. She turned to Harry. "I'm sorry to you, too. This wasn't supposed to get you involved." she turned back to the Professors. "If you're going to expel me, I completely understand," she said.  
  
Harry couldn't take it anymore. "Professors, don't expel her, she didn't know it was against the rules or-"  
  
"Hold Your Tongue, Potter!" Snape snapped.  
  
"What Miss Love's fate is, will be up to the Professors and I, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said wearily. He sighed heavily, then said "I see some of you are in need to medical attention." He conjured up a stretcher from nowhere, and levitated Hermione onto it. With a wave of his hand, it started on its way to the hospital wing.  
  
"Best let Madame Pomphrey have a look at your arm, Mr. Potter," Professor Dumbledore said. "Katherine, follow me please." He now addressed the large crowd with was still standing watching the whole scene. "As for the rest of you, you might as well go to dinner, there's nothing left to see here." He turned, along with the other Professors, to go.  
  
"Kat, you have NO idea-" Harry began painfully.  
  
She smiled softly at him. "Don't worry about it, a'ight? Everything's going to be all right," she said reassuringly. She patted Rons arm genuinely, and let it linger there for a sec, before grinning at them in that oh so confident way that she did, and turned to follow the Professors.  
  
There was a sigh, and Harry looked to his left. It was Malfoy, watching Kat walk off. It surprised Harry to no ends that Draco looked really and truly sad. He sighed heavily again, then turned to leave, muttering as he left "That arm isn't going to heal itself Potter."  
  
Harry watched him go with curious eyes, then winced again as his arm told him hat he should probably hurry up and get some medical attention. "Come on then Ron," Harry said, and Ron helped him towards the castle.  
  
  
  
"You will never cease to amaze me, Mr. Potter."  
  
Harry was sitting on a hospital bed in the hospital wing, and Madame Pomphrey was tending to his arm.  
  
"Every year, without fail, you go and damage yourself in some dangerous feat," she said, shaking her head. "And every year you drag yourself into my office, so I can fix something or other."  
  
Harry smiled warily at her, and she glared sternly back at him. "What was it this time? Oh yes, a sword fight! My goodness, I don't understand how you children operate these days, getting into duels, getting stalked by dark lords, those bloody animals that Hagrid keeps, and now sword fights!" She shook her head again as she tightened his bandage. "Now you stay here, and don't you dare move! I'm going to see Professor Dumbledore about adding another medical form to your already extensive file."  
  
She shut the door, leaving harry sitting on the bed. He looked around his surroundings and was startled to see Hermione sitting on a bed on the other side of the room staring hard at him.  
  
"Hey."  
  
"'lo."  
  
This didn't make sense, they weren't supposed to be this distant.  
  
"All right then?" he asked.  
  
She shrugged, "Suppose so. You?"  
  
He smiled weakly with a side glance at his arm. "As all right as I could be I guess."  
  
Not even a chuckle from her.  
  
Harry sighed. "Hermione, seriously, is there something wrong?"  
  
"So nice of you to notice, " she said bitterly. Harry's eyebrows raised to the heavens. "Ok, now I know something's wrong."  
  
She remained silent.  
  
"I'm going out on a limb here, does this have anything to do with Kat?"  
  
That did it, he thought. He had hit something, he had seen a kind of reaction in her.  
  
"It is, isn't it?" he asked. No response. "What was with that duel today, eh? That isn't like you at all."  
  
"I've already told you," she snapped angrily, "I was proving to myself-"  
  
"Hermione, what could you possible have to prove to yourself?" Harry interrupted.  
  
"That I'm better than that damn Katherine!" she exclaimed angrily.  
  
Harry looked at her surprised. "What?"  
  
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Harry, maybe you don't understand what it's like to feel that you've been replaced."  
  
"Replaced?" Harry said, confused. "What are you-"  
  
"Ever since this year began," she continued, "everything has been about Kat. I just barely see Ron or you anymore, because you're always off with Katherine!"  
  
Harry realized with some guilt that she had a point.  
  
"Yeah, well, you haven't been the most social these days," Harry countered. "Always grumbling and glaring-"  
  
"Because you're talking or hanging around with Katherine!"  
  
Then it hit him. He wasn't it sure it was actually possible but-  
  
"You're jealous, aren't you?" he said softly.  
  
"And what if I am?" she said peevishly.  
  
He was quiet for a moment, then said "What are you jealous of Kat for?"  
  
She didn't answer, but a faint blush crept onto her face. It wasn't like he didn't already know, but he wanted to hear her say it.  
  
"How long?" he asked softly.  
  
At first, she didn't respond, then said "First year."  
  
"I see."  
  
"But it doesn't matter anyway," she suddenly exclaimed, "because she's won."  
  
"Won?" Harry asked. "Won what?"  
  
She glared at him again and hopped off her bed and walked to his and stood in front of it. "Don't you get it?" she hissed. "That duel stood fro something. Take a good look at me Harry," she said, stepping back and spreading her arms. "What's missing here, eh?"  
  
His eyes searched curiously, until they stopped on a rose stem that hung limply on her robes.  
  
"I don't get-"  
  
"I lost, Harry!" she snapped. "Did you not notice a rose blowing freely at the end of the match?"  
  
He laughed bitterly. "I was a bit preoccupied with the bleeding of my cut arm."  
  
"That rose stood for something," she continued, ignoring his last remark. "She still had hers!" her voice steadily rising. "That rose symbolizes the one thing that she has that I'll never have!"  
  
"Hermione, you're being highly unreasonable!"  
  
"AM I?" she said shrilly. "It seems reasonable to me!"  
  
"Why don't you just get to know her?"  
  
"Because I don't WANT to get to know her!" she yelled. "I HATE her! I hate everything about her! The way she looks, how popular she is, and MOST of all, how she holds all your attentions!"  
  
"Well maybe YOU would if YOU weren't acting like such a BITCH!" Harry yelled back.  
  
SMACK.  
  
Harry's head slapped to the left at the force of Hermione's hand, which still hovered dangerously in the air.  
  
"I dare you, Harold James Potter," she hissed, barely above a whisper. "I DARE you to say that again."  
  
"How DARE you even act like you know how I feel. Calling my exclamations 'unreasonable'." Her voice was rising again. "You have NO idea-"  
  
"Oh YES I DO, Hermione!" he snapped, grabbing both her hands. "I know all too well how you feel! I've experienced this before, all right?!"  
  
"They why don't you-"  
  
"Because I can't help who I love!" he said, throwing down her hands.  
  
Wait a minute, he thought. Did he really love her? He knew it was a serious crush, but was it really love?  
  
Hermione was breathing pretty heavy and looking extremely put off. Her face fell as she whispered "And neither can I." Harry's eyes widened.  
  
"What-?"  
  
"I've got to go," she said distractedly. "Sorry about the slap..."  
  
"No, it was, uh, my fault..." Harry said, dazed.  
  
"And your arm."  
  
"Yeah.."  
  
She turned to go, but Harry grabbed her arm, holding her back. They're eyes locked. For some reason, he felt an overwhelming urge to just take her into his arms and make everything better, back to the way things were before this year, before Kat came.  
  
Unknowingly they were drawing closer together, they're faces only inches apart. Hell, if he was going to lose someone who meant the world to him because of a girl, maybe it would just be best to-  
  
"You never listen to me, do you?"  
  
Harry snapped out of his reverie and let go of Hermione's arm. They moved apart and turned to see Madame Pomphrey and Ron standing in the door.  
  
"Do you think I don't know what's good for you?" she demanded. She strode over to where he was standing with her hands on her hips. "I'm a Nurse, I'm SUPPOSED to know what's good for you!"  
  
"I better go. Thank you Madame Pomphrey," said Hermione. She glanced once more at Harry, then walked to the door, past Ron, and left.  
  
"Now you, back into bed! You're not leaving until that arm is healed, do you understand?" Harry sighed and hopped back on the bed. "Yes ma'am."  
  
"Good. You have a visitor," and went into her office.  
  
Ron was looking from the hospital door, to Harry, and back again, with a highly confused look on his face.  
  
"Ok, did I just walk in on something-?"  
  
Harry shook his head. "Don't worry about it...we just had a kind of.....row, I suppose, that's all."  
  
Ron nodded dimly. "You sure?"  
  
Harry thought about telling him everything, how he didn't want to hurt Hermione, how much he really really liked Kat, how much Hermione loved him, how he felt about her loving him.....  
  
What he almost did a minute ago....  
  
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure..."  
  
  
  
Ok, that was long, and kinda angsty, too. Didn't mean to get so emotional ~_~;;;;. Hey, if you're an anime fan, you might have noticed that the comic book she got the duel from was Shoujou Kakumei Utena (or for you people who can't understand Japanese, Revolutionary Girl Utena). It's one of the more insane animes with female/female relationships and incest, and people possessed by black roses....yeah, it's swell. LOL. However, there's a message in it that you can achieve anything with love and friendship, even revolutionizing the world, so, it's all right in that retrospect. Moving right along, things will get happier in the next chapters, it's almost finished. I'm thinking maybe 10 and an epilogue perhaps. ^_^ ja ne! 


End file.
